Twin Switch
by That One Anon
Summary: Where Subway Boss Ingo and Pokemon Trainer Hilda come together through the crazy days on the Battle Subway. /ExpressShipping if you don't squint, now completed -for the most part- through multiple installments.
1. Twin Switch

Twin Switch

(In which Emmet's plan burns up and Ingo is left to smother the flames.)

1/1

The car shook and swayed as the subway changed tracks and turned in time to make room for another line heading towards Gear Station. Ingo looked out the window and watched the rather bland scenery go by; stone and concrete blurring into swatches of gray, gray, and even more gray.

Sighing, the Subway Boss looked away from the window and down towards his book, absently noticing how the white pants and coat looked against the blue seats. It looked...odd. He was used to seeing a darker blue on the seats. Maybe it looked different when it was besides the black of his own Subway Boss coat. It was just odd.

Everything was odd. His white gloves seemed dull and a bit dirty compared to his brother's coat. White drowned the edges of his vision; the collar of the coat was a little higher up and a little longer than his own. While Ingo was sure he fit Emmet's clothing just fine, he couldn't help but feel as if he were out of place and out of his own skin. Ingo wondered if his brother was feeling the same way on the Single Line. It wasn't enough that they had switched clothes; they had also switched subways.

The Double Line was quiet, something Ingo relished in as he read. The Single Line was never this quiet, nor this peaceful; there were trainers coming all the time, with most of them already used to battling one-on-one. He was glad that he had decided to follow his brother's rather crazy idea this time—it meant he had more time to himself.

It also meant he had more time away from a certain trainer from Nuvema town. Hilda always battled on the Single Line, as she preferred to stick to something until she finished it (Which had yet to happen, of course). She was extremely stubborn, but that was one of the good things about her, Ingo supposed. She often had a look of concentration on her face when she fought him; it made her look childish and surprisingly...

"Ah, hello?"

The door to the 21st car slid open, and Ingo looked up from the Pokecare book (one of Emmet's he found lying around and decided to bring on a whim) to spot familiar black boots speckled with dry dirt. He followed the boots up to familiar legs, jean shorts, shirt, and face.

"Mr. Ingo?" Hilda called out, closing the door behind her. Ingo waited until she had turned back around to place the book down and stand up, holding onto one of the rings for stability like he'd noticed Emmet do before. A part of him wondered how she knew it was him without him doing anything. Had he been frowning? No, he could feel that it was a rather big smile (for him, at least) on his face. Was it maybe his eyes?

"I am not Ingo; I am Emmet. I am a Subway Boss-"

"Mr. Ingo," Hilda interrupted, "That's really creepy when you say it."

Ingo sighed and let the smile fall from his face. "Then I suppose you would not like to hear it?"

"Um, yeah."

"Good. I was getting quite tired of saying it myself." Ingo paused, taking in the sight of the one trainer he hadn't really wanted to see (and yet waited for every day the Single Line was running), and asked the question that had been gnawing at him. "Miss Hilda, how did you know I was not Emmet?"

Hilda let out an un-ladylike scoff, waving a hand nonchalantly. "Oh, I already visited the Single Line and noticed something odd. Did you know your brother almost lost by default?"

Ingo raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah. He almost took out two Pokemon during a one-on-one battle."

"Aah." Somehow, he was not surprised. It _was_ quite hard to adapt ones battling style after getting used to it for so long. Plus, they had only switched a couple of hours ago.

"Yeah. So I asked Mr. Emmet where you were, after beating his face into the floor, and he told me to take the Double Line and find out." Hilda finished off her explanation, her face brightening up a little when mentioning her win against Emmet. "So, would you like to explain why you two have done a twin switch?"

" _'Twin switch'_?" Ingo parroted. He had his own look of confusion on his face, mimicking Hilda's earlier expression. "I am unfamiliar with the term."

"It's just something Hilbert and I made up when we were young." Hearing Hilbert's name made Ingo's heart pause for a second; none had given as much of a glorious battle as Hilda's twin had, and even remembering the battle left him breathless. None had defeated Ingo as easily, either. Hilda continued on, unaware of Ingo's thoughts. "But anyways, a twin switch is when twins, or identical looking siblings, switch places for a day or so. Hilbert and I used to do it before I started growing my hair."

"I was under the impression that you did not like being compared to your brother." Ingo had learned that fact rather quickly, when he had asked Hilda how her abilities as a trainer were liked compared to Hilbert's. Automatically, the young girl had formed tears in her eyes and was close to blowing at Ingo. She probably _would_ have yelled at him or had a small tantrum, had it not been for the fact that he had not known just how much she didn't like being compared to Hilbert.

He supposed she had a right to be defensive, since her brother _was_ the League Champion of Unova, not to mention the sole Hero that had destroyed and disbanded Team Plasma and their leaders (One of the Seven Sages, however, was still at large, and their 'King' had disappeared on the day he was defeated).

"I don't," Hilda answered, "But we did our last twin switch a long time ago. Think it was a year before we started our journey. You haven't answered my question, though, so don't think you're getting away with that."

Ingo sighed, bringing the brim of the white cap (it was so white it blinded him) down to cover his eyes. "Defeat me in a Pokemon battle, and you shall receive your answer."

"Doing this the hard way, huh?" Hilda smirked, pulling out a Pokeball. "That's okay, I'd like to beat you for once."

* * *

><p>She had lost.<p>

It was rather shocking, however. The two had competed in a Double Battle, with Hilda using her usual team and Ingo using his brother's own Pokemon ("Wow, you guys even switched all your Pokemon! I thought Mr. Emmet just had the same Pokemon as you all along!") in a battle of sparks, flames, and the occasional bodily contact between their two Pokemon.

Hilda smiled, leaning down to rub the head of her exhausted but content Audino. The Audino chirped happily before disappearing into the red and white Pokeball as Hilda recalled it into its capsule. "Well, looks like I lost. Yeesh, I never get to beat you, even when you're not using your own Pokemon."

Ingo's face was that of content, a smile on his lips as he petted the Galvunta he had grown accustomed to seeing at his brother's side. "Emmet and I often like to battle each other in our spare time and compare strategies. You never know when there would be a time where one of us would have to cover for the other." With that, he recalled Emmet's Galvunta and clipped the Pokeball onto his belt.

Somehow, Hilda wasn't surprised at the twins' ability to think ahead. "Is this was today is? A practice run?"

Head shaking, Ingo brought a gloved hand up to keep his hat from falling off. "No, this was just one of Emmet's ideas. It held some merit to it, so I agreed to the 'twin switch', as you call it. It is a good way to see if any of our employees can tell us apart. " It was the truth—the idea had been a bit appealing. Despite how uptight he usually appeared to the trainers and conductors, Ingo had as much of a mischief streak as Emmet did.

He just knew how to hide his tracks, is all.

Hilda blinked, then blinked again. "I thought you were only going to tell me if I beat you."

"I did say that, did I not? I suppose there is no harm in telling the reason, however." Oh great, now he was playing favourites. When had this started, he wondered. Was it visible to other people?

Hilda scrunched her eyebrows together. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I would say that you're playing favourites."

Damn.

"Then perhaps..." Ingo muttered as the train started to slow to a stop. He could see the lights of the familiar station out of the corner of his eyes. "Perhaps it is better than you do not know any better."

"Huh?" Hilda looked up with confusion in her eyes. "Mr. Ingo, did you say something?"

"No, it is nothing." He replied, reaching down to pick up the book he had left on the too-bright subway seat.

The two were silent as the the train slid to a bumpy stop. Doors were opening car by car, but the two remained standing where they were. "Miss Hilda?"

"Huh?"

Ingo tugged the brim down once more. "Did you...How difficult was it to tell that Emmet and I had switched places?"

There was a brief silence, and then a cheeky grin from Hilda. "Oh, are you looking for tips on how to do better next time?"

"No, I am just-"

"It wasn't that hard," Hilda brushed off whatever he was going to saw quickly. Ignoring his twitching eyebrow (one of the subtle signs that he was annoyed), she continued. "You and Emmet are so different that I wonder how people get you mixed up."

"Oh?" What an odd thing to hear. He and Emmet were identical twins; even their own mother had difficulty identifying them when they were younger.

"Yeah. Maybe it's because I grew up with a twin too, but I could spot the differences. For example," Hilda stepped forward and invaded Ingo's personal space, ignoring how the man stiffened. "You wear your gloves differently. Mr. Emmet likes to roll his gloves at the end, while you like to stretch them out and get them wrinkle-free. You can tell the difference when you bring your arm up like this." Hilda grabbed Ingo's arm and demonstrated the action, pointing at the gloves in question.

Ingo's faced slightly burned as she continued to list off differences between him and Emmet, not used to all of a female's attention being on him. That was better saved for Emmet, who charmed people with his bright personality and even brighter smile. Perhaps that was why he wore white, and why he was left with black.

Ingo supposed he was a little jealous—no, _envious—_of his brother.

"And finally," Hilda had almost finished her rant while he was musing on his twin. "Finally, your skin. Mr. Emmet's skin is more tanned; it works with the white coat. You just look really pale and sick right now."

"Is that so?" Ingo looked down at the open skin between his glove and his pulled-up sleeve. The difference between their skin tones had to be minimal at best. Just how was Hilda able to spot all these small details?

"Yup! You look better in colours you're used to. Don't try so hard to copy Emmet, either; he didn't put as much effort into it as you did. You tried to copy even his phrases; he just went with the ol' 'I am Ingo hear me roar' thing."

Somehow, Ingo knew those words weren't necessarily directed towards him. "Is that why you stopped impersonating your brother?" he asked, noting how she winced slightly.

Hilda stood silent, and slowly released Ingo's arm to let it fall back to his side. "I...guess. I know it doesn't really look like it now, but I looked pretty similar to Hilbert. I guess after being confused for him so many times with so little effort, I got sick of it. So I grew out my hair, cut my jeans, and the rest is history...I guess."

"I guess..." Ingo trailed off, remembering all the times his mother had mistaken him for Emmet whenever Emmet had misbehaved, or when Emmet had run off and shirked from his responsibilities.

The two stood for a while, lost in their own worlds, when a sudden rap on the subway car's wall caught their attention. One of the Depot Agents was at the open doorway with his knuckles resting against the cold metal. "Sorry to interrupt, but the subway stopped around ten minutes ago."

Hilda and Ingo looked at the Depot Agent, then at each other. It was Hilda who made the first noise, giving a bit of a snort. "Ha! Were we really talking that long?"

"Talking would imply that we had actually conversed with each other on pleasant terms. What you were doing for the majority of the time was more of a rant, Miss Hilda."

"Hey! We so did talk...just not as long as the ranting!"

The Depot Agent fidgeted, having been left off to the sides. "Well, I guess I'll be going now..." He turned around and walked back to the Battle Points booth as the sound of Hilda and Ingo's somewhat-bickering rose. It wasn't for another five minutes that the two would turn around and notice the Depot Agent gone.

Hilda rubbed the back of her head (messing up her ponytail) In embarrassment as Ingo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, should we head off, then? It's lunch time, after all, and you are on break now."

Ingo absently wondered how she knew his break schedule. "I suppose. Perhaps we will meet with Emmet and see about changing back into our regular apparel."

"Please." With that, the two took a step forward and out of the subway. "Hey, Mr. Ingo?"

The Subway Boss looked down at Hilda from the corner of his eyes, eyebrow raised. "Yes?"

"Don't ever change, okay?"

Ingo paused in mid-step, fully turning his head to face Hilda. "And what is that supposed to mean, Miss Hilda?"

"What it means." Rather than looking bashful, Hilda looked a little mournful. "I mean, I like you the way you are, and I like Mr. Emmet the way he is, so if you two change—worse, if you change into each other—it won't be so cool anymore and-"

"Miss Hilda." Hilda stopped and looked up at Ingo, who gave her an all-knowing gaze back. "I am Ingo. I am not Emmet, nor will I even be. Does this satisfy you?"

"..." A smile. "Yeah, it does. Can I also call you 'Ingo' instead of 'Mr. Ingo'?"

"Do not push your luck." he replied with not-so-frigid frost in his voice. Hilda laughed and pushed ahead of him, running up the stairs towards the rest of Gear Station. Ingo followed at a slower pace, silently observing his companion as he followed. He later came to the conclusion that Hilda was someone to be watching; not only would she mature in terms of her skills as a trainer, Hilda would also mature as a person, and Ingo wanted to be there to witness the end results.

Hilda suddenly stopped in mid-step, her arms raised in the air as she turned. "Are you sure I can't call you 'Ingo'?"

"Would you care to battle for that right?" Ingo retorted.

The girl shook her head. "Maybe after I destroy your brother again." With that, Hilda turned back around and continued walking towards the employee's area.

Ingo chuckled, bringing the rim of the white hat down like he often did on his own conductor's hat. _Miss Hilda, you are quite the girl._

_End._

* * *

><p>Extra<p>

(In which Ingo burns his brother, but never teaches Emmet why not to play with fire.)

Lunch found the three Pokemon trainers (read: two grown men and a girl that barely reached their shoulders) sitting in the employee's break room eating their respective lunches. Conductors and other employees paused in their routines to stare in curiosity before either a look from Ingo or a too-eerie grin from Emmet had them scurrying off.

Hilda looked up from her lunch, a smudge of mayonnaise on her cheek. "Hey, Emmet?"

"Hmm?" Emmet looked up from his Joltik-shaped sandwich, already used to the sudden change in Hilda's way of addressing him.

"Why'd you decide to switch places with Ingo?"

Raising an eyebrow at his twin that asked '_Ingo?'_, Emmet turned back and gave Hilda a tooth-filled grin. "Well, Miss Hilda, it all began one night when I was trying to get to sleep..."

Hilda listened to Emmet's story with rapt attention as Ingo sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ignore him, Miss Hilda. Emmet is merely making up lies to fill your head with."

"Brother!" Emmet sounded hurt. With the same grin on his face, Emmet gingerly placed one of his gloved hands on top of his chest. "I'm hurt!"

"Obviously, you are not hurt enough." Hilda's laugh warmed Ingo's stomach briefly (although the man will forever claim it was the hot soup in his thermos).

"Miss Hilda! Can you believe this man?" Emmet leaned in closer to Hilda (ignoring Ingo's warning look) and brought a hand up to not-so-discreetly whisper something into her ear. While Ingo didn't quite catch it, the expression on Hilda's face said everything for him.

"At least I know how to pronounce my name." the Subway Boss bit out, watching in satisfaction as Emmet's face turned bright red and the grin fade from his face. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I hit a nerve, _Eww-wat?"_

_ "Brother_! That was when we were still kids! That's a low blow!"

"It is still rather valid, _Eww-wat._"

Hilda (not quite understanding the inside joke, but finding it funny enough) laughed, the noise echoing throughout the room as Ingo continued to poke fun at his twin. "Anyways, _Eww-wat_, I suppose it is time that we switch back, is it not? I would like my record to not be ruined any further."

Emmet glared at Ingo. "What makes you think I ruined your record?"

"Miss Hilda here was gloating about how she 'beat your face into the floor', if I recall." The usually-frowning Subway Boss watched with a smile on his face as Emmet rounded on Hilda, who let out an "eep!" and leaned away from the frowning man dressed in black.

"Miss Hilda! Why did you tell him that?"

"Well, it's true!"

Ingo merely shook his head and cleared his throat. Automatically, the two looked towards him. "As I was saying?"

Emmet stared for a couple of moments before realization shone in his eyes. "Oh, right! Switching!" He grinned once more and reached forward, grabbing the white Subway Boss coat and starting to tug on the clothing. "Strip, brother~"

"E-EMMET!"

"Eeep!" Quickly, Hilda covered her eyes, but a gap through her fingers let her see Emmet stand up from his seat and continue trying to disrobe his brother through sheer force while the yelling Subway Boss tried to fight back.

Emmet managed to get one sleeve free and half of the coat off his brother's torso (as well as loosening Ingo's tie and unbuttoning a button or two on his shirt) before he found himself kneeling on the ground cradling his stomach. Still in his seat with his feathers ruffled, Ingo held up his foot in warning. "Do not-" a kick towards Emmet, "-Try that-" another kick towards the arm reaching out, "-Again!"

Emmet continued to laugh and cackle, even as Ingo batted away every attempt of him trying to grab his leg. "But it was so funny!" he laughed, dodging a rather nasty kick. "Besides, Miss Hilda certainly enjoyed it!"

Ingo paused in his attacks and looked to his left, where Hilda sat across the table from him. The girl still had her face hidden in her palms, but he could still see the red, _red_ skin underneath.

The half-dressed Subway Boss looked down at his appearance and noted why Hilda was blushing. With a blush of his own, Ingo stood up and headed towards the Nap room. "We will be back momentarily. Do not, under any circumstance, allow any persons into the Nap room." Ingo warned Hilda as he grabbed the back of his still-laughing brother's clothing and dragged him towards the closed room.

Hilda (palms now down on her thighs) gave a short nod, her face still flaming crimson red as she watched the two Subway Bosses (one laughing like a maniac, the other with his shirt halfway off his chest) disappear into the room.

"What a day," she muttered aloud, barely hearing her own words over the racket Ingo and Emmet were making next door.

* * *

><p>And so starts my stay on this site, as well as my start in the Pokemon fandom. I want to experiment with this pairing, ExpressShipping (IngoNobori x Hilda/Touko) before delving into other pairings in the fandom. There will be more to this; I just haven't decided whether to post it as another chapter or another one-shot.

(Actually, I'm a bit nervous about posting this in the first place. I haven't written fanfiction since...forever. I have no idea what is good to write and what isn't, so I feel like I'm going to flail around and look like an idiot.)

(On another note, I remember doing twin switches with my sister. Got us extra candy as a kid. Fun times.)

I feel like I did okay with this, thought I'd like some feedback from the community. Was this good (In your opinion)? Where there errors I missed? Is there some bits that don't work/don't flow as well? Would you want more oneshots/fics like this? I'm just looking for feedback so I can alter how I do/write things in the future.

Anyways, thank you very much for reading!


	2. Coffee Break

Coffee Break

(In which Hilda succeeds, but never really finds out.)

1/1

"Please ride the Battle Subway again!"

Hilda watched as various trainers wearily filed out of the train and towards the lobby of the Gear Station. It was coming close to midnight, and everyone looked exhausted (even the odd Depot Agent she saw walking around). Suddenly aware of her own fatigue, Hilda yawned and brought a gloved hand up to cover her mouth as she did so.

The snow was still falling outside the Gear Station, and seeing as how the doors were kept open to allow for easier entrance/exit whenever there was a mob of trainers leaving, the lobby itself had gotten quite cold with time. Hilda released her breath, watching it fade from her view in front of her. Giggling (much like the little girl she really was), Hilda released a larger breath, covering her view with misty fog for a second.

And amidst the fog, like a ghost, he appeared. His stark black coat blurred, then sharpened into focus as he walked closer. His head was down (shame, Hilda couldn't see his face) as he read a sheet of paper off a clipboard he always seemed to have on his person at all times.

"Ingo!" she called (not a yell, yet not a whisper), waving one of her hands up in the air.

He looked up then, and Hilda paused, her hand still in the air. He looked so...

Ingo looked so _tired. _His eyes were slightly red as they sat above bags that lined his eye sockets, his mouth set in a tired frown atop his pale, almost ashen skin. His greyish-white hair did nothing to de-age his looks, and it was then that Hilda realized just how much stressed the older male was on a daily basis.

"Ah, good evening, Miss Hilda. Or is it early morning now?" Ingo closed his eyes briefly (_he looked as if he were about to sway and faint_) and opened them as soon as his frown has lessened to a more neutral look.

Hilda opened her mouth, about to reply, but changed her mind. Quickly, before Ingo had a chance to react (maybe he was too tired to even bother), she reached up and ripped his conductor hat off his head. Most of his hair remained gelled back on his scalp, but a couple stray locks broke free and fell across his forehead.

"...Miss Hilda?"

"Ingo," Hilda started, feeling a bit like a doting mother hen, "How many hours of sleep did you get last night?"

By now, the only people in the lobby were them and some Depot Agents walking around to do some last-minute work before they left for the night. Hilda was seen with Ingo (and Emmet) so frequently that the workers thought nothing of it, even when she had taken his hat (which was a big no-no when it came to even Emmet).

"This information is necessary why?"

"Because you don't take care of yourself at all. Now answer the question."

Ingo sighed, bringing up a gloved hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Miss Hilda, I have some work to do before I retire for the night, and-"

"Oh, for Arceus' sake!" Hilda had a displeased look upon her face. With the empty hand, she grabbed Ingo's sleeve and started pulling him towards the stairs leading up to the second floor of the Gear Station. "You can get your work done up in the office, but I'd like an answer right after. You know what, scratch that. I want you to go to sleep immedietly. I'll get Chandelure to burn your papers if I have to! Do we need a repeat of the last time you fell asleep on the Single Line?"

Across the lobby, one Depot Agent looked up due to the racket Hilda was making and spotted his boss (technically, one of his bosses) Ingo being dragged up the stairs by none other than the firey trainer from Nuvema Town.

"Hey," the Depot Agent shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth to try and get Hilda's attention. "The second level of the Gear Station is-"

He was stopped by a gloved hand on his shoulder. Turning around, the Depot Agent faced a smiling Emmet with a questioning look on his face. "Mister Emmet, only-"

"No, it's fine." Emmet waved his hand up and down in the air as if the dismiss the issue. "Ingo and I don't mind her up there. She often comes by during the day when most of you guys are on your break." He remembered the first time Hilda had been dragged up the stairs towards the apartment he shared with Ingo; Elesa had demanded that Ingo and Emmet let her use their bathroom to change Hilda out of her drenched clothes (a nasty result of someone using an out-of-control Surf during a battle) and the twins had obliged.

"O-oh, is that so?"

Emmet nodded. "I've given permission for Miss Hilda to go upstairs and to the employee-only areas. Don't worry, she won't be a bother."

The Depot Agent frowned slightly. "Forgive my doubts, but are you sure?" There were always many cases of trainers sneaking into the employee-only rooms or up to the second floor each month. Most of the incidents were because the trespasser wanted was blackmail or hints on how to beat the Subway Bosses, but there was the odd case of someone sneaking in due to their admiration of one of the two men.

Emmet started to walk away, and only addressed the lone Depot Agent when he was close to the stairs himself. "Again, don't worry. Miss Hilda's not that kind of girl." he said before trotting up the stairs with a smirk on his face.

The Depot Agent shrugged his shoulders, wondered if his boss was psychic, then continued on with his job none-the-wiser.

* * *

><p>The clock chimed once.<p>

Then once more.

Hilda sighed quietly as she snuggled further into the couch. Instead of working in his office, Ingo had opted to finish some paperwork in the living room of the apartment he and Emmet shared. Thus, the two had the _'pleasure'_ of listening to the grandfather clock (a housewarming gift from the previous Subway Bosses) chime out the hours in a loud tone that made Hilda want to cover her ears. Ingo didn't seem to mind it, for he merely continued reviewing papers and signing them like a robot.

While Hilda would normally be trying to get him to stop his paperwork and do something that didn't involve paper or a pen (maybe something like _sleeping_), she was extremely tired and the place was _freezing. _She still had her mittens on, and Ingo had lent her his coat, but it was still cold enough to freeze her bones. She merely had no energy to argue with Ingo, with it being so cold and so dark.

As if to mock her, the snow outside fell down faster in a beautiful flurry of white speckling the lit-up city.

Hilda groaned. "Looks like I'm not going to be getting back to Elesa's today." The trainer had never bothered renting a place in Nimbasa City (traveling was the way to go as a trainer with no job), but on the rare times she did stay for more than a night or two Hilda would stay at Elesa's place in Nimbasa Town (with permission, of course). However, due to the snow, it didn't look like she'd be able to even get out of the station without her toes freezing and falling off five feet from the entrance. Even if she could, Hilda wasn't sure if she wanted to; she had made the couch rather warm over the two hours of sitting, and it was certainly more inviting than walking in the snow with only a vest.

Ingo paused for a second, then went back to hastily scribbling his name on a paper. "You are always welcome to stay here for the night. Emmet has offered many times before, and he would not mind."

"He says that just to get you riled up."

"Again, he would not mind if you did take him up on his offer."

"But would you?"

The room was silent as Hilda waited for Ingo's answer. With a sigh, the man removed his cap (Hilda had given it back some time around 1AM) and brushed a hand through his slicked-back hair. "...No, I would not mind." He finally replied, his voice shaking. Ingo's flushed cheeks (was it due to the cold?) softened his sharp facial features and fit his slightly-rumpled clothing that seemed to remind Hilda of how tired she felt.

Hilda stared at him for a moment, debating on whether he was just being polite or really meaning it (that, and taking in the sight of Ingo looking so red and vulnerable and _not-Ingo like_). "...Okay, I guess."

Ingo's small frown lessened to a somewhat-neutral-smile as he stood up, stretching his arms as he did so. "I will be back momentarily with some blankets and a pillow. Would you be alright with sleeping on the couch?"

Hilda nodded, her exhaustion catching up to her and forcing her eyes to close halfway. "Yeah...it's better than the ground." She recalled all the time she had to sleep on the forest ground in a thin sleeping bag, surrounded by Venipedes and Foongus that glared at her with murderous eyes whenever she had her back turned to them.

Yup, a couch sounded much nicer.

Ingo nodded, and turned to head towards the hallway closet, where all the spare blankets and towels were kept (in disarray, of course). He took one glance at the mess and exasperatedly sighed. Already, the man could see that half of the items were not blankets and towels, but rather some of Emmet's spare clothing. Going through the items would take a while, it seemed.

He doubted what he was looking for would be in the pile of clothing, anyways. With another sigh (and a slight mental kick to the rear), Ingo set off to the depths of the lair (read: his brother's bedroom) to find just where Emmet had put their only woolen blanket.

Hilda sat on the couch for a couple of seconds then stood to stretch her legs and arms, unaware of Ingo's current dilemma. "Might as well do something for him if he's doing something for me." With that, she shuffled to the kitchen and headed towards the coffee machine she had become acquainted to over the visits to the Subway Boss' home.

"I wonder if he has any coffee beans ground up already..."

* * *

><p>By the time Emmet had finished his own share of the paperwork in his office, it was 2:20AM. Yawning, the white-clad Subway Boss gathered his things and shut the door to the office before heading down the hallway to the apartment he shared with his brother. Careful to make sure no papers or supplies fell, he unlocked the door and headed inside.<p>

Emmet sniffed the air, smelling...

"Brother, did you make coffee?"

"No." The voice was distant, and Emmet heard the sound of clothed feet walking on the wooden floor of their apartment. Emmet shrugged and removed his jacket and shoes before heading further inside the apartment.

"Oh, I guess Miss Hilda must have made some or something. Speaking of, did she head..."

Emmet stopped at the same time Ingo did to stare down at the cough. There, already asleep and letting out light snores, was Hilda. She was curled up into a ball and surrounded with Ingo's large black Subway Boss coat for warmth. Besides her, on the coffee table, was a mug of steaming coffee.

"..."

"Aha." Emmet chuckled. "I guess she did decide to stay the night, for once."

"Must have been rather tired to fall asleep so quickly," Ingo mumbled under his breath. He stepped forward, gently removed the coat off of Hilda and quickly replaced it with a thick woolen blanket (a memento from their mother from so long ago) before the girl could feel a thing.

"Brother?" The man looked up to face Emmet. "Are you okay with her staying here? I know you don't like letting people stay the night, and that's mom's old blanket, and..."

Ingo shook his head, his face falling in an odd sort of peaceful look. "No, it's quite alright. I asked her to stay."

"Really?" This was new.

Ingo nodded. He sat back down on his previous seat (back to the dreaded paperwork) and reached for the mug of coffee. With a pause to determine if the liquid would burn his tongue, Ingo sipped a little and placed the cup down to continue skimming insurance forms.

Emmet sniffed the air again. "Huh, how'd she know you like it with lots of milk and caramel cream?" Of course, Emmet had asked Hilda to help make coffee before (when she caught them running late and unable to make coffee themselves), but never before had she made coffee specifically for Ingo. The frowning Subway Boss always liked to make his own cup, even if he was running late and if Hilda offered to do so herself; it would leave the young trainer standing to the side uselessly and Ingo grumbling at himself for being even more late.

Ingo had no answer for him.

Emmet chuckled and turned for his bedroom, already knowing the answer without his brother saying anything. "Well, night night brother~"

Ingo merely raised a hand in recognition before he turned back to the papers. Every couple of minutes, he turned to look at Hilda. It was only because it might still be cold for her (he had gotten used to cold temperatures) and he didn't want her to freeze to death. She was already curling into herself even more, her mouth parted as she breathed deeply, and she looked so vulnerable and-

Ingo let out a breath, slouching out of his usual pose. He reached for the mug of coffee and let the aroma tickle his nose. Maybe a little coffee break would be good for him; more energy would allow him to finish the papers faster so he could go to sleep and open the Subways again at eight.

The clocked chimed once.

Then once more.

Then...again.

"...Really?" When had it gotten to be 3:00AM? Had the caffeine dulled his sense of time? Surely, he needed to go to sleep soon, but the papers would not finish signing themselves...

Ingo looked down at the mug of coffee, Hilda's face blurring in the steam, and then back at the stack of papers he had been neglecting over the past three days. The ones that should really been finished as soon as possible before it caused further complications, such as taking up so much of his time that he'd never get any sleep.

…

Ingo sighed, his mind made up. The papers could wait until tomorrow.

With that in mind, Ingo turned off the small lamp to his side, enveloping the room in darkness (save for the fuzzy lights of the amusement park in the distance). Gathering the papers into a stack, he brought them close to his chest and stood up, leaving the room to put them away and prepare for bed.

It wasn't until 3:25AM that Ingo returned to the dark and silent living room. Hilda's soft snores were barely heard over the blanket she had managed to throw over her head. With a soft chuckle, Ingo reached down and patted the blanket atop her head. The girl paused in her snoring to let out a grumble before turning her head and continuing her rest, unaware of the figure leaning above her.

"Thank you for the coffee," Ingo whispered in the dark. "Good night, Miss Hilda."

_End._

* * *

><p>Extra<p>

(In which Hilda finds out, but also discovers a bit more than she expected.)

"Ah! Brother, wake up!"

"Ingo, you're going to be late!"

The voices were all muffled and mixed together, but Ingo managed to crack one eye open. Automatically, he closed it shut and brought his blanket over his head to the bright ray of sunlight falling through the window (when had the snow let up? The meteorologist said it was supposed to snow for the rest of the week, dammit). "What time is it?" he grumbled out.

There was a sheepish laugh, the shuffling of feet, and an answer from a voice he couldn't identify. "It's, um, 7:45AM..." Whoever was by his bedside poked his shoulder, and Ingo brought a hand to swat the finger away from him.

Ingo turned over in his bed. "Oh." He grumbled out before letting the words sink in.

"...Oh."

Click.

"Dammit!" Ingo flew out of his bed in a flurry of blankets and Chandelure-print pajama fabric. Ignoring whoever was in his room, he ran for the drawers and quickly pulled out a dress shirt and a pair of crisp, black pants. He was unbuttoning his shirt(Only 15 minutes! Oh, for Arceus' sake!) and almost had the last button undone when he heard a small shriek from behind him.

Ingo turned around to spot Hilda, red-faced and sitting on his messy bed. The two stood in silence for a couple of seconds before Ingo looked down and remembered his state of dress.

Never before had Hilda seen a man turn red so quickly.

(Well, there was the time in the employee-only room when Emmet had tried to strip him, but Ingo's face wasn't as red as it was now)

Hilda shrieked again and Ingo flailed about, quickly trying to re-button his shirt but the buttons _just weren't cooperating with him_ today.

"I-I'm sorry!" Hilda called out, slapping her hands on her deep-red face. "I'll just get out now!"

Ingo didn't bother giving her a reply as he ran around grabbing more articles of clothing, continuing to strip only after he heard Hilda's footsteps fade down the hallway.

When Emmet turned around and spotted Hilda walking towards him (mainly, the coffee maker in the kitchen) with a flaming red face and eyes containing a hint of _something, _he grinned and gestured towards the coffee maker. "Shall we?"

Hilda gave a short nod and busied herself with the coffee beans, ignoring how her hands trembled and how hot her face felt.

Ten minutes later (a new record), Ingo sped-walked down the hallway and into the kitchen in uniform (albeit, the dress shirt wasn't completely tucked in, and his tie was a bit askew). He quickly grabbed the cup Hilda was holding out for him and sped-walked the rest of the way to grab his shoes.

Emmet chuckled, noticing the small change in his brother's usual routine. "Well, Miss Hilda, shall we get going?" he asked.

Hilda eyed him suspiciously. "Why is Ingo the only one in such a rush if you both open the Subways?"

"Because he still has ten more minutes. He forgot I changed his clock's time yesterday."

Hilda shook her head, stepping forward to grab her boots and stop Ingo from going downstairs and making a fool of himself. "You're a sneak, Emmet."

"You have no idea," he replied.

* * *

><p>*<em>Headcannon: <em>Emmet has a sensitive nose...or at least a stronger sense of smell than his brother.

Behold, the next installment to _Twin Switch_! And I swear, this is the last time Ingo will be horribly embarrassed in front of anyone...maybe. All I know is that Hilda's the one getting into odd situations next. Anyways, the one thing I find funny is the fact that _Coffee Break_ was the first chapter/oneshot written out of everything planned. EVERYTHING. Unfortunately, this means it's the shortest. Oh well, it's quality over quantity (I think...). But hey, everything is released chapters so it doesn't look so short! _/shot_

Regarding Nimbasa Town, it is mentioned in the anime as being located on the outskirts of the city. I find it hard to believe that the population of Nimbasa City (which is apparently the largest populated city in Unova, beating Castelia City) would all fit in three apartments. Thus, Nimbasa Town - stolen straight from the anime.

As always, I'd like feedback from the community. Thank you all for the reviews, and please enjoy!


	3. Ditto, Part 1

Ditto

(In where everyone plans to protect Hilda, but the plan doesn't really work.)

1/2

The sun shone brightly through the window as Ingo watched Nimbasa City wake up from his spot in the living room. The man took a sip from his mug of coffee and enjoyed the brief reprise of silence inside the apartment, which was only possible due to the fact that Emmet was in his office across the hallway collecting the stack of papers to be given to the employees that day.

Ingo looked up from his mug of coffee and sighed. The Gear Station needed to be opened in 5 minutes, and it could not be opened by just Emmet. Grudgingly, Ingo stood up and made his way away from the peace and towards the mudroom to don his shoes. As he opened the door, he came face-to-face with a grinning Emmet who handed him a stack of his own papers.

"Ready to depart?" Ingo asked his brother. Emmet nodded, and the black-clad Subway Boss closed the door, pulling out the key to lock the apartment-

"Don't!"

Both Ingo and Emmet look towards the hallway exit to spot a blur of black and yellow running towards them. As the blur slowed to a quick walk, the two trainers recognized the person to be no other than Nimbasa City's Gym Leader Elesa.

"Miss Elesa?" "Elesa?" Ingo and Emmet chorused.

"Sorry guys," Elesa replied as she focused on bypassing the two Subway Bosses and entering their apartment with a familiar trainer in her clutches. "Have to use your place for a second!" As she stepped into the mudroom, the Gym Leader tugged on the arm of the person she held. "Hilda come on, we don't have time!"

Ingo looked down and realized that it was indeed a flushed Hilda that Elesa had accompanying her. "Miss Hilda?" he called out.

"Ah?" Hilda looked up past the rim of her cap and smiled. "Oh, hey Ingo-" The girl was interrupted as Elesa tugged on her arm again and pulled the trainer into Ingo's apartment. As soon as Hilda's foot made it past the door, Elesa smirked up towards the two men and slammed the door in their faces.

Ingo stood surprised in the middle of the hallway as Emmet pounded on the door. "Elesa," he called out loudly, "What's going on?"

There was a couple seconds of silence from the other side before the Electric-type trainer's muffled voice came through the oak of the door. "Just open the Station! I'll tell you guys later! No Hilda, don't touch that bag..."

The two men (who had just been locked out of their own apartment) stared at the door. It was Emmet who looked away first. "How did those two get into the Station?"

Ingo shook his head and moved his feet towards the stairs leading towards the first floor. "I have no idea."

"Figures." Emmet shrugged his shoulders and locked his hands behind his back, following his brother into the Station. "Women are weird."

Ingo could not disagree with that.

* * *

><p>It wouldn't be until 9:00AM that Ingo and Emmet would spot Elesa or Hilda after the two females had barged into their apartment. As soon as both the Single Line and the Double Line had finished their first run for the day, the two Subway Bosses made their way to the lobby intent on finding Elesa and her current victim.<p>

They found Elesa facing a PC near the Wi-Fi Line, standing akimbo as she argued with the machine. "Look, there's nothing wrong with your appearance—augh, you're going to ruin your hair if you keep doing that!" Elesa frowned as she reached forward and grabbed something behind the PC.

The two brothers shared a look before Ingo cleared his throat. "Miss Elesa, what is going on?"

The aforementioned Gym Leader jumped surprise and let go of whoever was behind the PC as she straightened her posture. "Just in time, you two! I want to show you my latest piece of work!" Elesa reached past the PC and pulled on something, striding towards Ingo and Emmet looking like a cat that swallowed a canary.

"Elesa, I think I can walk by myself." The figure behind Elesa grumbled. He (Ingo surmised; the person didn't quite sound like a woman, but that could be due to the grip Elesa had on the tie) wore the standard uniform for a Depot Agent, though it was slightly baggy. The green conductor's cap hid brown bushy hair and bright brown eyes that widened as soon as he noticed Ingo and Emmet.

"Ah, but if I don't hold onto you, you'll run away." Elesa tugged on the black tie in her hands again, and the boy lurched forward to still at her side. "Anyways! Ingo, Emmet, meet my latest masterpiece!" The Gym Leader presented her companion with a flourished gesture of her arms.

Ingo and Emmet stood still for a second before Emmet spoke up. "Ah, Elesa, I told you not to prey on the younger Depot Agents. People will think you're a cougar if you keep this up."

The boy Elesa had a hold on choked on his breath as he giggled (Giggled?). Elesa huffed, cheeks blushing in embarrassment, before she tugged on the tie once more. "Very funny Emmet, but you're not completely wrong. She _is_ my latest conquest."

"_ 'She'_ ?" Ingo and Emmet parroted in unison. Ingo scrunched his eyebrows together. "Pardon me, Miss Elesa, but is that not a male?"

The 'boy' groaned, and Elesa's face brightened up like the lights on the ferris wheel in the amusement park. "Ah, so it did work!" she cheered. "But no, this is a she. Ta-da!"

Elesa brought the person's chin up, and Ingo took another look into the brown eyes. "I even managed to hide her hair!" he heard Elesa comment. The Single Line Boss peered closer at the figure's bangs. The pair of puffy locks framing the face looked familiar...

Ingo reeled back in shock. "Eh? Miss Hilda?" Emmet stepped forward and looked at the 'boy' as well, repeating Ingo's exclamation of surprise.

"Yes, finally!" Elesa brought her hands up, then down again. "Hilda's never let me dress her up, but now she has and it's a success!" The Gym Leader twirled around in happiness, dragging Hilda along due to the tight grip she had on her tie.

Ingo looked down at the disguised-Hilda (who was oddly quiet) and started forward, his eyes widening in shock. "Miss Elesa, please release Miss Hilda!" he cried out.

"Eh? Why?"

Emmet stared at the spectacle for a moment before turning towards the Electric-type Gym Leader. "Elesa, you're choking her." he replied for Ingo as said man loosened the knot around Hilda's neck.

"Eh?"

* * *

><p>Minutes after the tie-fiasco, the trio of adults stood in a huddle near the edges of the lobby as Hilda walked off to get a drink for her throat. Ingo watched the young trainer walk away before he turned his attention towards Elesa. "Would you care to explain why you felt it necessary to enter our apartment, lock us out, and tamper with Miss Hilda's appearance?" he asked.<p>

Elesa gave the lobby a glance as she leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I got word from Hilbert that a high-ranking Plasma member is heading towards Nimbasa City today, and that their goal may be to find Hilda," the woman replied. All playfulness and cheer from her face vanished into a look of complete seriousness.

Ingo gulped, and Emmet widened his eyes. "Did he say who it was?" Emmet asked.

A shake of Elesa's head had Ingo sighing. "You were to disguise Miss Hilda in order for her to escape detection in case her name didn't work, am I right?" he asked, referring to the difference in Hilbert and Hilda's last names. Due to the amount of threats and challenges posed for a League Champion, Hilbert had made the decision to take up his mother's maiden last name so his family would be protected on any records.

"Exactly. Hilbert said not to tell Hilda anything, so to her this is just the results of a bet she lost yesterday. I'd like you two to keep an eye on her and any people that enter the Station."

"Understood." Ingo reached down and pulled out a small Xtransceiver from his coat pocket. "I will inform the other Conductors and Depot Agents. Did Mister Hilbert give you any other details?"

Elesa paused, her face scrunched up in an internal debate as she spoke. "Hilbert said there's only two high-ranking Plasma members he knows that are on the loose, since most of the Sages have been apprehended already."

"Who is left?"

"There's the final Sage. Hilbert said his name is Ghestis Harmonia. Green hair, one visible red eye, and he's usually wearing some sort of ceremonial robe."

Ingo frowned. "I remember him," he commented as Emmet nodded. The two had been traveling Unova themselves when the Plasma Sage was still working with the Champion Alder in the Pokemon League. Even then, there had seemed to be something about the man that had made Ingo's spine tingle in warning. "What of the last person?"

"..." Elesa frowned.

"Elesa?"

Elesa didn't speak for a couple of seconds. "There's..." she crossed her arms over her chest and bit her lip. "There is the 'King' of Team Plasma. He's in his early 20s, and Hilbert says he goes by the name N Harmonia. Green hair, greyish-blue eyes, and a menger sponge the man keeps on his belt."

Emmet examined the Gym Leader for a minute, watching as she squirmed underneath his gaze. "There is something you are not telling us. Elesa, we need to know everything if we are to keep watch over Hilda."

"..." Elesa sighed, slouching her shoulders yet never uncrossing her arms. "Hilbert says to not let the man, under any circumstances, spot Hilda even if she is disguised since there's a strong chance he'd still recognize her. Something happened between the two in the final battle, apparently."

Ingo's frown grew in size as he pressed a button on the Xtransciever and waited for a Conductor to pick up. "Understood, we will keep an eye out for the two." he replied.

"Will you be okay, guys?" Elesa asked as she uncrossed her arms. It was around time she got back to the gym to accept challenges for the day.

Emmet nodded, and Ingo spoke. "We won't let anyone harm Miss Hilda," he spoke aloud, ignoring the feeling he got in his stomach when he thought of Ghestis or this 'N' person hunting for the young trainer he had come to be protective of.

Elesa said nothing about his statement as she turned back to the stairs leading to Nimbasa. Hilda would be fine; the girl she had taken under her wing was well looked after. The Subway Bosses could protect her if a fight or a battle broke out...

"Why am I feeling so uneasy, then?" Elesa wondered aloud, stepping out into the chilly winter air.

* * *

><p>Moments after Elesa had walked off to her gym, Hilda had returned to find Ingo and Emmet sporting similar frowns. When she asked for the cause, Hilda received a obviously made-up answer. Thus, the girl decided to drop the issue and ask what she was to do for the day.<p>

It was that question that led to Hilda following Ingo throughout the Station as the man walked off to who-knows-where looking as if he didn't have a short 16-year old 'boy' following him as he continued on with his day.

"If this is just for one day, why am I going for training?" Hilda asked as she struggled to keep up with Ingo's pace. Her borrowed pants were constantly falling onto the heel of her shoe, and the jacket was so heavy that the girl wobbled a little whenever she had to stay still.

Ingo ignored how she struggled to walk and continued moving towards the employee-only area. "Can you state the details of your bet with Miss Elesa?" he replied.

Hilda frowned at both the memory of losing and the fact that Ingo had avoided her question. "I'm supposed to wear whatever Elesa shoves at me and follow her orders for a day."

"Indeed. Miss Elesa has already told Emmet and I that while you are wearing a Depot Agent uniform, we are to treat you as a Depot Agent. Therefore, you will be following either a Subway Boss or a senior Depot Agent for your training today." A rather large lie, but if it worked it meant Hilda wouldn't be around the lobby as often and there would be a lower chance of people spotting her. At least Ingo hoped it would turn out that way.

"But it's just for today," Hilda whined as they pushed their way through a minor crowd to pass through the door brightly labeled 'EMPLOYEES-ONLY'. "And won't the Depot Agent ask questions if I'm not attending training tomorrow?"

"That is why I will be doing my best to have you assigned to Emmet." Ingo continued to explain as they opened the door to another hallway. "I will be too occupied with Single Line battles today to properly train you, and Emmet has often complained of boredom on the Double Line."

Hilda's reply was a muttering of something Ingo didn't quite catch, but understood enough to push Hilda through the hallway a little harsher than necessary.

"We're here," Ingo spoke after a couple minutes of silent walking. The Subway Boss brought one gloved hand up and pulled on the handle of a white door, letting it open for Hilda as he followed. They were in one of the many offices inside the Station, and like the rest of the offices it was as plain as one could get it to be. Ingo stepped forward and sat at the large wooden desk that stood near the covered windows, automatically reaching for one of the folders and scanning the sheets inside.

It was a few minutes of reading (exploring the room and looking at books on the shelves for Hilda) later that Ingo sighed and set the folder down, catching Hilda's attention. "It seems as if all senior Depot Agents are either unavailable or out for the day. Until we can catch Emmet, you will be staying with me."

Hilda shrugged her shoulders as she placed one of the books back in its place. "Fine with me, I guess." It wasn't like she could say anything about it; Elesa's orders made it clear that Ingo and Emmet were her 'bosses' for the day.

Ingo made a noise of agreement and stood to leave the room, his black coat _swishing _behind him as he did. "Come, the Super Single Line should be leaving soon."

Hilda groaned and started her jog to keep up with Ingo. "Would it kill you to slow down a little?"

"Perhaps."

* * *

><p>At 5:35PM, after the fourth Single Line of the day took off from the rest stop and into the tunnels, Ingo finally accepted the fact that taking Hilda on the subway with him was probably not his best idea to date and he would most likely never do such a thing again.<p>

Throughout the many rides, Hilda had asked many questions about the trains and the Gear Station in general, and while Ingo was fine with answering them (most of the time; questions such as if Joltiks conducted the train when he was battling were promptly ignored) he would have been more inclined to reply in a polite manner if she didn't ask in the middle of a Pokemon battle. It did not help that many of the challengers looked at him oddly when they realized he was traveling with another person—the 21st car of the Single Line was usually occupied by only one person.

The two had met up with Emmet during a Multi Line run around noon, and while Emmet had expressed his want for Hilda to be around his Double Line ("It gets verrrrrry boring, and all the challengers are so stuck up that it doesn't help!"), the Subway Boss was experiencing an increase in challenges that day and wouldn't be able to train Hilda. In the end, it was determined that Hilda would stay with Ingo until her brother Hilbert arrived at the Gear Station around sundown.

(Ingo remembered that Xtransceiver call with distaste; for a 16-year old, Hilbert could be rather intimidating. However, Ingo was a man of his word and he _would_ look after Hilda until Hilbert finished with his own duties to do so himself.)

Currently engrossed in a Pokemon battle, the Subway Boss directed his Klinklang through another attack sequence. "Shift Gear, then use Gear Grind," he commanded, watching as his Steel-type did as he asked and sent an Archen slamming into the wall from the impact of the gears that twirled in perfect unison. Ingo's eyebrow twitched; his Klinklang was preforming its moves with a little more dramatic flair than necessary, and the Subway Boss had an inkling as to the reson why. His eyes drifted over to the third person in the car and the only one not involved in the battle.

Hilda sat on one of the seats, her Solosis on her lap and watching the battle as it progressed. Smirking, the 'Depot Agent' looked down at the Psychic-type in her lap and playfully tapped it on the side. "Someday, you're going to be able to beat that," Hilda pointed a finger at Ingo's large and fearsome Klinklang, who let out a noise of pride.

Ingo ignored her comment and let out another attack towards the Archen across from his Klinklang. The Ace Trainer watched in disappointment as his Pokemon fainted from another Gear Grind, and with a grit of his teeth he recalled the Archen back into its Pokeball.

Ingo let out a small noise, recalling his own Pokemon. "Ah. Your battle was not bad at all. However, we seem to have done slightly better than you," he called out, ignoring the way the Ace Trainer glared at his through teary eyes—this was probably the boy's first time winning all 20 battles. "We would really like to battle with you again! Please ride the Battle Subway again!"

As the Subway came to a stop at another rest stop, the Ace Trainer grit his teeth and exited the car without a single reply. Hilda gave a low whistle and stared at the door the trainer left through. "Tough going," she muttered.

Ingo heard her words. "Indeed, but he will come back again. That boy is not the kind to give up after just one loss." After a moment to wait for the subway to continue on its way again, Ingo turned his head towards the young girl. "Are you learning something here, even if I cannot properly train you?"

Hilda nodded. "Yup!"

"Oh?"

Hilda grinned and pointed a finger in his direction. On her lap, her Solosis mimicked its trainer's pose and expression (sans the actual arms). "I'm learning how to beat you in our next battle!" she announced, burning determination in her eyes.

Ingo shook his head and sighed exasperatedly. "If you say so," he grumbled. Not only was the girl not doing any training whatsoever, but she was using his battles to spot his weaknesses and patterns. Very much what a trainer should do, but only if she were not studying _his _battles...

The door slid open with a smooth '_whoosh_', and both Ingo and Hilda turned their heads towards the entrance. When no person came through the doorway, Ingo scrunched his eyebrows together and called out. "Who's there?"

It was a second later later that Ingo spotted green hair poking up past the doorway. "Um, hello?" a male voice called out. Ingo heard Hilda try to hide her gasp from her seat to his right, and his frown grew to that akin to a large grimace.

He knew it was a bad idea to take Hilda on the subway with him.

_End 1/2._

* * *

><p><em>*Headcannon:<em> While Hilbert was the one to defeat N and Ghestis, Hilda was a part of the events until the very end. Due to this, Hilda is a target for any retaliation attacks from ex-Plasma members just as much as Hilbert is.

So...this was just an excuse for me to write Elesa being completely dominate and having someone cross-dress. I believe there was also the plan to show another stage in Ingo and Hilda's relationship, but then Elesa popped in and everything went to hell in a hand basket. I'm sorry. Totally sorry. _ /shot _There is a small shoutout to the askEmmet page on tumblr.

Next part of the installment will be up on Thursday because I need to finish editing. Sorry for the wait guys, I just wanted to get this out as quickly as I could before I focused on my Socials project. Happy Thanksgiving to those in Canada!

(AHHHH GUYS THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH THEY ENCOURAGE ME~! YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING! /_flails and breaks a vase)_


	4. Ditto, Part 2

Ditto

(In where everyone plans to protect Hilda, but the plan doesn't really work.)

2/2

The owner of the green hair stepped into the final car, and Ingo noted with relief that it wasn't the green-haired man he had believed it was. No, there was only one person with moss-green hair he recalled dressing as a waiter.

"Mister Cilan!" Ingo greeted. He had not seen the waiter/gym leader for a couple of months, due to the Team Plasma events and a general increase in challengers throughout the region. Cilan was a known regular on the Anville Town Line (the man often went on weekends to trade items with other travelers), and once in a while he stopped by the Single and Double Lines for a battle to see how much he'd improved.

Cilan gave a short bow. "It is nice to see you again, Mister Ingo. Um," The green-haired connoisseur looked to his side, where Hilda sat in her seat with her Solosis in tow. "May I ask who your acquaintance is?"

"Ah..." Ingo trailed off, unsure of whether to introduce Hilda by her real name or a different identity. Would the Pokemon trainer feel okay having Cilan know 'he' was a 'she'?

Hilda solved his dilemma by stepping forward and shaking Cilan's hand with her Solosis on her shoulder. "It's nice to meet you, Mister Cilan," she answered in a deeper voice Ingo had never heard her talk in. It still sounded quite feminine, but if one never knew that the 'Depot Agent' was a girl they wouldn't think twice about it. "My name is H...Blair. I'm one of the new trainees. My friend Hilda's told me a lot about you, especially since you were the first Gym Leader she faced."

"Ah!" Cilan's eyes lit up in recognition as he returned the handshake. "I remember Miss Hilda and her Oshawott! I haven't seen her in a while! Is she doing all right?"

"Yeah, Hilda's doing great. She's running around the region like a madman trying to become stronger than her brother. But weren't you were here to challenge Mister Ingo...?"

"Ah, that's right!" Before Ingo had a chance to think over how odd it felt to hear Hilda address him as 'Mister Ingo' once more, Cilan was completely focused on the Subway Boss. "Um, Mister Ingo, may I have the honour of being your opponent for today? My senior team has been looking forward to a worthy battle for a while..."

Ingo let out a small noise, reaching to his belt the moment he saw Cilan pull out a Pokeball and Hilda take a seat to observe the battle and recall her Solosis. "Very well," he said as the Pokeball in his hand opened to reveal his trusty Crustle. "Will you go on to victory or defeat? All aboard!"

* * *

><p>The dust settled inside the cabin, and Hilda watched with bated breath as Cilan's Simisage twitched once, then twice before it slowly slid to the ground unconscious. Ingo's Garbador let out a long breath of relief as it seemed to slump over in exhaustion, which Ingo took as a sign to recall the Pokemon. Battle over, the Subway Boss gave a smile and clapped his hands slowly but loudly. " Your battle was not bad at all. However, we seem to have done slightly better than you," he said, his voice reflecting the exhilaration he got from the battle.<p>

"Wow!" Hilda spoke up as she watched Cilan recall his Simisage into its Pokeball. "Mister Cilan, If you're this strong why are you in the first gym?" Garbador had been Ingo's last available Pokemon for the battle; if Cilan's Simisage has managed to give one last Grass Knot attack, Ingo's Garbador might not have had enough energy to retaliate and would have lost.

Cilan gave a weak laugh as he rubbed the back of his head in bashfulness. "Um, my brothers and I are still novice Gym Leaders. Unlike Miss Skyla, who has been raised to be a Gym Leader since she was a child, we only recently became a League-certified gym. It will take a while before we reach the level of the other Gym Leaders, but thank you for the compliment. This was also a stroke of luck; I usually lose to Mister Ingo's second Pokemon."

"Striaton City is also surrounded by lower-level Pokemon, so Mister Cilan must also adjust his strength in order to battle the challengers fairly. The goal of a Gym Leader is to test a trainer for their potential, not defeat any person that comes their way," Ingo said, adding his own two cents.

"Oh," was all Hilda said as she leaned back against the blue seat. "I didn't know there was so much involved. It feels kind of odd though, to beat you when you're not at your full strength."

Cilan raised an eyebrow at Hilda's statement. "Mister Blair, you've faced me before?" The Grass-type trainer cupped his chin between his fingers and thought deeply as Hilda's shocked and panicked outburst of 'AH!' went unnoticed. "You seem to be around Miss Hilda's age, so how is it that I do not remember you...?"

Hilda sweated bullets underneath her Depot Agent uniform as Ingo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Crap," she whispered underneath her breath.

"Mister Blair?" Cilan called out. Hilda slowly turned towards him with a nervous expression on her face. "Mister Blair, would you care to let me have the honour of being your opponent? I would gladly give you the opportunity to face me at 'full strength', and I would like to see your starter Pokemon if you will allow it."

_Crap crap crap crap crap crap crap._ Hilda glanced up at Ingo for guidance, her eyes wide and shaking in fright (whether this was because of the eventual discovery Cilan would make or the annoyed/angry expression Ingo would wear was unknown). Ingo sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he replied for Hilda. "I do not see the harm in allowing Blair to battle. Perhaps I shall see if he has learned anything over the day. Mister Cilan, please use the PC before you engage in another battle."

As soon as Cilan had turned to re-enter the 20th car and use the PC, Hilda had turned on Ingo and jabbed a finger against his chest. "Why would agree to the battle?" she hissed, her voice returning to its natural pitch. "Now he'll know for sure that I'm Hilda!"

"If you had thought before speaking, perhaps you would not have to battle." was the stoic reply the young trainer received.

Hilda groaned. "That doesn't mean you couldn't cover for me. I swear, you're getting a kick out of this you-"

"I'm back—Um, am I interrupting anything?" Both boss and employee turned around to face Cilan, who had returned with three Pokeballs in his palm and a confused expression on his face. "I'm sorry if I did interrupt..."

"N...No, it's quite alright." Ingo cleared his throat and stepped to the side, allowing Hilda to unwillingly step into his previous spot. "I will act as referee, if you both wish."

"Um, sure." "Yeah, okay."

Ingo's eyebrow twitched. "A one-on-one match with three Pokemon each. Let the battle between Blair and Cilan begin, then." With a wave of his gloved hand, Ingo sat down on one of the seat and crossed his arms in front of his chest. It would be interesting to see how Hilda fared against battling someone that wasn't him or his brother.

Hilda gritted her teeth and reached into the pocket of her green pants to pull out a Pokeball. "Come on out, Samurott!" she yelled, tossing her Pokeball into the air as it cracked open. A bright light filled the crevice and soon faded to reveal a Samurott standing on all fours with its weapons sheathed in their scabbards on its forelimbs. The sea lion Pokemon let out a mighty roar and stretched its limbs out on the metal floor as it awaited orders from Hilda.

Cilan's eyes widened at the sight of the Water-Type he remembered seeing on the TV reporting the battles at the Pokemon League. There was no mistaking the Pokemon, not when he recognized the cross-like scar on its horn and how the air it had around it that was similar to its trainer. "Is that..." the Gym Leader gulped, then raised his voice. "You're Miss Hilda, aren't you?"

Hilda froze. "Huh?" the girl spoke out. It took a moment for her to realize she had accidentally replied in her natural pitch, and by the time Hilda had slapped her hands onto her mouth Cilan had already figured it out. From his place at the sidelines, Ingo raised a hand and covered his face with his palm.

"It _is_ you," Cilan seemed to be trying to convince himself of the fact that 'he' was a 'she'. "Miss Hilda, why..."

Hilda sighed, then adjusted the conductor's cap to cover her eyes. The motion left a feeling of deja vu that didn't help with the uneasiness settling into her stomach. Nonetheless, Hilda raised her head and pointed at her target—Cilan's just-released Simisage that was making faces. "Defeat me in a Pokemon battle, and you shall receive your answer. Samurott, use Crunch on that monkey!"

Needless to say, much like the last time someone had uttered those words, Hilda lost. But just barely this time.

* * *

><p>It was nearing sundown when the Single Line came to a slow stop at the familiar Single Line platform. As the doors slid open, Cilan stepped out and took a deep breath. "Well, it was a pleasure seeing you, Mister Ingo."<p>

"Likewise, Mister Cilan. Please do try to come by again," Ingo replied, tilting the rim of his cap as he stepped onto the platform. His small smile was infectious, for Cilan's grin grew larger, his eyes crinkling from the force.

"I will do my best. Also..." the green-haired Gym Leader turned to face the final person inside the car. "Miss Hilda, you are always welcome at the Striaton City Gym. I know Cress and Chili would very much like to see you again. Er, I promise there will be no bets involved."

Hilda looked up past the rim of her cap with excited eyes, ignoring the comment about bets of any sort. "Can I have another battle?"

Cilan chuckled. "Um, sure, it will be done. Perhaps we shall all have a four-way battle?"

"Please!"

Ingo chuckled at the duo, spirits lifted at their cheerful interaction. Looking out for Hilda and listening to Conductor reports on top of his daily duties had drained the man of any energy he may have had at the beginning of the day, and now that the sun was setting Ingo was feeling glad that the day was almost over. Together, Ingo and Hilda walked with Cilan and watched him head board the line heading past Striaton Town. Waving one final time to the train as it set off, Hilda stretched her arms and let out a yawn.

"Well, at least the day's almost over," Hilda commented as she started following Ingo to the lobby.

"Indeed," Ingo agreed. Neither felt the urge to say anything else as they walked up the stairs and found themselves in the circular lobby. The last rays of the sun came in through the open doorway at the top of the main stairwell, enveloping the lobby in a hazy orange. Ingo's eyes halfway closed and the man felt the tingles of fatigue travel through his body. It would be a couple of hours to the closing of the Gear Station, but Hilda was safe and as far as Ingo was concerned she would be safe for the rest of the evening once Hilbert arrived.

Speak of the devil, looks like the boy was already in the Gear Station. Leaning against the wall besides the lobby PC was none other than Hilbert Black in his regular traveling attire, scanning the crowds for his sister.

"Hilbert!" Ingo heard Hilda cry out as the girl-disguised-as-a-boy ran forward to stop near her brother. Hilbert had a small guarded smile on his face; the only obvious way Ingo could tell that he was happy to see Hilda was the way his eye softened and closed briefly in relief.

"Hey," Hilbert replied, pulling lightly on one of Hilda's hair puffs (he couldn't well pull her hat off and ruffle her hair like he did before). "Have you been treating Mister Ingo well?" The boy couldn't help but put the prefix in front of Ingo's name; as League Champion, he was taught to address everyone with the respect their position deserved.

Hilda nodded, and spoke quietly as said Subway Boss walked closer. "Ingo's been really nice today; I've been staying on his Line for 'training' today and he hasn't thrown me out once!"

"What an achievement," Hilbert chuckled and watched as Ingo finally caught up to the siblings. "Hey Hilda, want to go grab me a drink? I have to talk with Mister Ingo for a moment."

Hilda gave him an odd look, but slowly nodded. "Sure, no prob." With another look towards Ingo, Hilda jogged off to the vending machine she had become acquainted with over the day. She had the feeling that the conversation would be about the same thing that made Ingo and Emmet frown earlier, but that was all Hilda had—a feeling.

"Vending machine...vending machine..." Ingo heard the girl mutter as she left. Waiting until Hilda had passed the large pillar in the center of the lobby, the Subway Boss turned around to face Hilbert.

Hilbert wasted no time beating the bush. "Have there been any signs of Plasma members in the Station?" he asked Ingo. The boy was all business; he was looking out for both his sister and the region of Unova.

Ingo shook his head, adjusting his cap as he did. "No, the Depot Agents have mentioned nothing about spotting Ghestis or N."

"So Miss Elesa told you about them?" At Ingo's nod, Hilbert scrunched his eyebrows together. "Miss Elesa has been keeping an eye out at the amusement park and the gym, and I've been going around the rest of Nimbasa City. I guess we have to assume that the tip was a fake, or a prank..."

"Or you can assume the tip was true and you are simply looking for the wrong people." a light feminine voice spoke up from their left. Quickly, Ingo and Hilbert turned to face their eavesdropper; a tall willow-like woman with short, bright yellow hair that framed her face and two locks that were separate from the rest and waving up in the air. The female wore a modest white dress that flowed to her knees and revealed sandal-clad feet. The woman was all small smiles and polite faces, but Ingo didn't miss the way Hilbert narrowed his eyes at the sight of her.

Hilbert grit his teeth, his posture immediately stiffening. "Concordia."

"Hilbert, is is good to see you at peace." the woman replied, letting Hilbert's name fall from her lips with barely disguised distate. Her words were akin to honey lacing a poisonous stinger. "And I don't believe I know the name of your companion here..."

Before Hilbert could warn Ingo as to who she was, Ingo was already giving a stiff-but-polite bow. "Ingo. Pleasure to meet you."

"And to you as well." Concordia replied. Her small dainty smile grew as Ingo retracted back into a standing position. "Hilbert, it seems as if you have not told your friend Ingo about me. Would you care to introduce us properly?"

The rim of Hilbert's cap was shifted to cover most of his steel-cold eyes. "Subway Boss Ingo, this is Concordia of Team Plasma. She goes by the title 'Goddess of Peace'. It appears that she is the one who sent the tip a couple days ago regarding today's events."

Ingo was startled. This young woman was the high-ranking Plasma member they had been keeping an eye out for the whole day? She held no Pokemon, nor any weapons on her!

Concordia let out a soft laugh that seemed as fake as her smile. "I applaud you for your efforts to prevent _us_ from meeting with Hilda, but it seems as they have been in vain." As the 'n' rolled off her tongue, Ingo found his feet moving on their own accord as fast as they could in the direction Hilda had taken.

Hilbert stayed in his place for a moment longer, saying nothing about how quickly Ingo had reacted to Concordia's words. "Is it Anthea that's here with you as well?" he asked

"But of course. We never go anywhere alone. She should be having a _pleasant_ chat with Hilda right about now."

Hilbert clenched his jaw and ran past Concordia towards the same direction Ingo had taken. After a second, he suddenly stopped and turned around to address the woman. "Do not blame us for an event we had no need to take part in," the League Champion called out to the Plasma Goddess, "Anthea has found peace—perhaps you should, as well."

Concordia gave no reply other than her smile fading into a dimmed frown.

* * *

><p>"Hope he likes lemonade," Hilda grumbled as she stood up from her kneeling position in front of the vending machine in the Wi-Fi Line platform. Smirking, the disguised girl turned on her heel to head back towards the lobby, where Ingo and Hilbert were probably waiting—<p>

"Hilda?"

Hilda turned her head to stare the wall adjacent to her, spotting pink amidst the stark black hugging the wall. "Huh?" Not a moment after the girl smacked herself on the forehead. What was the point of trying to hide from others that 'he' was a 'she' if she answered to her real name?

The pink hair bobbed up and down as whomever it was stepped away from the shadows made by the setting sun. "Oh thank Mew, it is you." The female stepped closer to Hilda until she was a foot away and her long, pristine-white gown was completely detached from the shadows. "I almost didn't recognize you in that get-up."

Hilda gaped before closing her mouth and managing to use her vocal muscles. "Anthea..."

Anthea nodded, her long pink bangs bobbing up in the air as she did. "Yes, thank you for remembering my name. It has been so long since I have seen you..."

Neither female mentioned how the last time they had seen each other was half a year ago in N's castle, before Hilda had gone up to witness the final battle between N and her brother. Before Ghestis had gone mad with the utter failure of his plans and had tried to kill Hilbert through his Pokemon, later on trying to kill the boy with his own two hands. Before father and son had disappeared off the face of the Earth and left people trying to grasp the ideals of a twisted man and his stunted son.

Hilda gulped, letting it roll down her throat with difficulty. "Anthea, why are you here?" she asked at last, breaking the silence and the stare-down that was taking place.

The tall, older woman sighed and palmed her cheek with one hand. "I'm here to say 'hello' and talk for a little bit before we go off into hiding."

" '_We_'?" Hilda asked. The trainer tilted her head in confusion, her cap almost falling off her head.

Anthea let out a chime-like giggle and reached forward to adjust Hilda's cap. "Yes, Concordia and I. Concordia should be with your brother right about now."

Hilda frowned. "That's not really a good idea."

"Mm, indeed it isn't, but I believe Concordia can keep her dislike for your brother to herself for a while." With softened eyes, Anthea let her hands trace Hilda's jawline until they rested lightly against her cheeks. The woman stared into Hilda's wide eyes as if to search for something.

Hilda broke the silence again, feeling extremely awkward at being examined by a woman twice her age. "I'm sorry I couldn't save him." she spoke out, snapping Anthea out of her trance and into reality.

Anthea let out a forlorn sigh. "No, it is alright. Perhaps I should have fought harder for my own lord." There was a shout from a distance away, and Anthea heard footsteps racing towards them. "If I had fought my own battle...if I had tried to save my lord N instead of leaving you and Hilbert to carry my burden..."

Hilda interrupted Anthea's contemplations as she stared hard into the woman's saddened eyes. "It doesn't matter, because what's done is done." The girl spoke up, past the shouts of 'Hilda!' and 'Miss Hilda!' that were echoing off the walls. "You loved N and he never found out. The end. I don't know if he even would have accepted it if he did know; he's weird like that."

Anthea hummed again. "Mm, perhaps. We will never know." The Plasma Goddess let the words hang in the air as Ingo rushed into the platform, followed by Hilbert. Both men froze when they spotted Hilda's close proximity with the woman, but it was Hilbert who stepped forward and gave a short bow.

"Anthea," he spoke up. Standing straight, the boy stepped closer to Hilda's side to stare down at Anthea.

"Hilbert. I hope things are well with you." Not waiting for the League Champion to reply, Anthea turned back to Hilda. "If a woman like me is able to find my love, then I hope you find yours." she spoke quietly.

"Huh?" Hilda asked. Hilbert's guarded stare turned frosty and Anthea felt another gaze on her back that responded to the hostility in the air. Slowly, Anthea turned around to face Ingo who had remained a distance away in a battle-ready stance.

The Goddess of Love twitched her lips as she attempted to stifle a giggle. "Well..." Anthea brought her hand down on Hilda's cap and gently tugged it off the young trainer's head to watch the mounds of brown hair that had been pinned up fall back down to her shoulders. "Perhaps you have already found it." the Goddess of Love finished off with a upturn of her lips as she handed Hilda back the conductor's cap. With a smaller smile directed to Hilbert (who returned it with a shaky smile of his own), Anthea walked past Ingo without a glance at the man and into the lobby.

The three trainers left behind said nothing as they watched Anthea meet with Concordia before the two women walked towards the main stairwell, where they disappeared out of sight. After a few moments, all three let out a breath they were unaware they were holding.

Hilbert sighed and patted Hilda's head after a few moments. "At least it's all over," he muttered. Ingo nodded in relief, letting his arms rest at his sides. Smiling, Hilbert closed his eyes. "Mission complete."

Hilda turned and peered up at Hilbert, her messy hair swaying with the motion. "What do you mean by that?"

Both men froze. _Crap._

_End 2/2._

* * *

><p><em> *Headcannon:<em> While telling Hilbert and Hilda about N's life, Anthea and Concordia both ask the two siblings to save N or at least help him realize what a mistake he's making. Since N's off on a dragon in another region I think it's safe to say that Hilbert and Hilda failed. Anthea forgave them; Concordia did not. Way to go, Goddess of Peace. As for whether there was a romantic relationship (or the beginnings of one) between Hilda and N...I'll leave that up for debate.

But anyways, so ends another installment to the _Twin _Switch universe! Hilbert wasn't supposed to even be in this installment; he's supposed to be in the next one! Eh, I guess an early entrance never hurt anyone. No room for an extra this time. Dang. I had to think a lot more about Cilan's character; unlike his anime-counterpart, the Cilan in game is a bit unsure of his power and tends to mumble and/or stutter a lot. As for his actual strength...yeah, I just don't see how a League-certified gym leader can lose against some trainer's level 12 Lillipup even if he is a novice Gym Leader. Insert some lies and poof there goes Cilan off being a BAMF who screams like a girl in the anime.

Still, please leave a review! I like to know how I'm doing and how I can improve (I also like hearing feedback from people and starting up conversations). Thank you for dealing with the delay in between the two parts of _Ditto;_ I'll try not to do it again. You guys are awesome!


	5. Missingno, Part 1

Missingno.

(In which Hilda gets the scare of her life and Ingo is reminded of who Hilda really is.)

1/2

It was a rather odd day inside the Gear Station of Nimbasa City; many of the trains were idle at their stations and very few Depot Agents were seen walking around and working. The large lobby (which was usually filled with the sound of chatter and footsteps as trainers headed off to the next challenge) was mostly empty save for a couple of people waiting for the next train to Anville Town and the oddest trio to ever grace the Gear Station.

Ingo, Emmet, and Hilda made their way to the exit, off to enjoy the Subway Bosses' only day off that month (thank Mew for Inspection Day), already clad in winter gear (Ingo cursed sudden snowfalls under his breath; just when he had been preparing for an early Spring, too). While their winter gear was usually just adding a scarf to their usual outfits for the Subway Bosses (Emmet still had to wear a thick turtleneck underneath his coat), Hilda had ditched the short shorts and went for a woolen sweater that was too large for her and a pair of jeans that hugged her thighs in a flattering way.

(Ingo wanted her to go back to wearing the short shorts; as odd as it sounded, it was as if the jeans showed more than her usual outfit did. Unfortunately for Ingo, he did not say anything and continued walking in the back with an annoying migraine forming.)

The three (rather, two of the three) made the majority of the noise in the closed station as they walked towards the large entrance that led to the rest of the city. Ingo walked at a slow pace, pinching the bridge of his nose and shutting his eyes when he spotted Emmet run for a small snowbank near the entrance stairwell with Hilda on his heels. The Subway Boss tugged on his off-white scarf to lower it below his chin. "Can you two not act your age for an afternoon?" he called out to the two trainers, letting his stern voice echo eerily.

Emmet shrugged his shoulders and grabbed a handful of snow, packing it in between his hands to make a firm snowball. "Can you not have a stick up your ass for a day?" he retorted.

Hilda snorted as she finished making her own pair of snowballs (one in each mitten-clad hand). "Since when did you pay attention to what went up your brother's ass?" the girl asked as she started up the stairwell. Emmet (and Ingo a little ways back) followed her.

"Well, since he started to notice the big things in life, of course."

"..." Hilda stopped on the stairwell, head tilted to the side in confusion. "Huh?" She was rewarded with a snowball to her forehead. The melting snow slid down her face and landed on a step with a disgusting '_plop_', along with the snowballs she had dropped in surprise.

Emmet cackled, hiding his smile (and his noises) behind his own white scarf. Neither he nor Ingo made an effort to snap Hilda out of her shock as they walked past her. "Oh, that was perfect!" Emmet continued to praise himself as he reached the top of the stairwell. "That was just perfect!" The Subway Boss paid no attention to the dirty glare Hilda sent his way or the fact that his brother was just behind him with a hand outstretched. "Did you see the look on your face when-"

Ingo pushed forward, watching with satisfaction as his brother landed face-first in a pile of freezing, wet snow. "If only we could see your face now."

Hilda erupted in laughter as she finished climbing up the stairs, giving Ingo a high-five (which the stoic man returned). Together, the much-older man and the much-younger girl walked forward and left Emmet to collect himself a few feet back. They made it past the amusement park (which was still running in the late winter/early spring season) when they were stopped by a call.

"Miss Hilda White!"

Ingo and Hilda paused, looking at each other before turning their heads to the left and spotting a man leaning against the side of the Gear Station building. The man's eyes brightened when he found their attention on him, and he jogged forward until he was a couple feet from Ingo (who had protectively stepped in front of Hilda and obstructed her view). Neither Ingo, Hilda, nor the man noticed Emmet as the Subway Boss came within arms length of his brother.

"Hey, guys!" Emmet ran forward, slapping on Ingo's back as he came to a stop. "Brother, what happened to acting your...age..."

Neither Ingo nor Hilda were paying attention to Emmet; rather, they were examining the newcomer and try to identify him. He looked to be in his mid-fourties, with messy black hair and focused chocolate-brown eyes. The man wore his brown trench coat opened in the cold air, and as he reached inside for a notepad Ingo spotted a glimpse of a metal badge with the letters 'IPO' engraved on them.

_He's an International Police Officer,_ Ingo's brain assumed. As the man side-stepped Ingo's large frame and faced Hilda (ignoring both Subway Bosses), Ingo found himself correct.

"Miss Hilda White?" The man paused, then continued as Hilda warily nodded her head. "I am a globe-trotting elite of the International Police. My name..ah, I shall inform you of my code name only. My code name, it is Looker. It is how I am called! I'm one of the leading officers on the case regarding the disappearance of your brother, Mister Hilbert Black, this I have heard."

'_Hilbert Black'_

_A flash of amber hair, focused brown eyes and the tilt of lips in a rare show of arrogance_.

All three trainers froze, but Hilda was the one who stopped breathing for a moment as her heart paused and her brain ceased to function. "What..." the trainer from Nuvema Town took a breath and gulped, thankful for the sharp sting the cold air provided, "What happened to my brother?"

"There is a report from three days ago, this I have-" Looker paused, subtly looking over to Ingo and Emmet out of the corner of his eyes. "Is there possibly a way we can..."

Hilda followed his gaze. "Um, yeah, hold on." She turned to face the two Subway Bosses, who were unsure and yet just as worried about the situation as she way. "Guys," Hilda started, "Do you mind if Mr. Looker and I chat for a while?"

Ingo shook his head. "Of course not," he replied for the two of them. "We'll be waiting near the amusement park."

Hilda smiled her thanks and then turned to pull Looker off the main road towards a shaded area near the side of the Gear Station building. As the two started discussing facts (Looker jotting down bits of information as they did so), Emmet looked towards his brother. "Do you have any idea what is going on, Brother?" the Double-Line conductor asked his brother.

Ingo stared for a couple of seconds before turning around and heading for the entrance to Nimbasa's amusement park. "I do not know, and I'm not sure if I would like to find out."

Emmet hummed, sounding neither pleased nor displeased with the answer as he jogged to catch up with his brother's long strides. "Will we not be going to the Musical, then?" A look from Ingo had the Subway Boss taking back his words. "I wasn't being serious! But what a way to spend the day off, hmm?"

Ingo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I have the feeling it's going to be getting much worse."

* * *

><p>He was right. Ingo hated it when he was right at times (all the other moments were perfectly fine), and this was one of the times he hated 'calling it' so to speak.<p>

"Miss Hilda, are you sure you're alright?" Emmet asked as he gently helped Hilda up from the snow bank she had fallen into. The three of them had decided to skip the musical (Good riddance to that; Ingo wasn't going to watch something called '_Fluffoughts! A Blitzle's day in Summer!_') and spend the day at the amusement park. While Hilda had agreed for the rides, her two companions had the ulterior motive of trying to get her distracted through sugar—and lots of it.

Hilda laughed, using her free hand to brush the snow off her face. "Yeah, I'm fine Emmet. It's just snow; it can't hurt me." The young trainer pried Emmet's hands off her arms and stood shakily for a couple of seconds before turning around and walking off. "C'mon guys, we're going to see Elesa remember?"

Ingo (who had been walking behind the two once more) looked up from the pile of sweets and prizes in his arms. "Miss Hilda, the entrance to Miss Elesa's gym is in the opposite direction," he called out.

Hilda froze in mid step and turned around with a sheepish grin on her face. "I knew that," she replied as her grip on the Reuniclus doll's arm tightened. "I just wanted to see the fountain!" This was an obvious lie, but if it meant it would save the girl some face Ingo and Emmet didn't see the harm in not pointing it out.

"Miss Hilda..." Emmet sighed before jogging to catch the girl just as she started to lose balance and fall into the fountain.

Ingo frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. His youngest companion was extremely clumsy and distracted ever since she had talked with the detective. Unfortunately, seeing as how she was so out of it that she couldn't watch where she walked, it was unlikely that Hilda would give him the answers he wanted.

Once Emmet had returned with red-faced trainer in tow, the three of them had set foot into Elesa's gym. Hilda and Emmet took the long way to Elesa's area via lit-up roller coaster ride while Ingo, being the killjoy he was, used the employee-only walkways to get there before his brother and his charge.

"Hello, Ingo." Elesa greeted as she watched the man enter through the emergency-only door she had installed on her platform. "Here for a social visit? Or are you here to hand over some declarations of admiration?" Elesa was referring to the pile of objects the Subway Boss carried, but the joke flew over Ingo's head as proven by his flaming red cheeks.

"Group visit," Ingo spoke as he and Elesa watched a car come closer to the platform they stood on, "Just a warning: be prepared for quite the bit of enthusiastic action. I am afraid I was unable to limit their sugar intake." The man did not sound the least sorry for his action, and Elesa briefly entertained the thought of him _wanting_ to see someone deal with his trouble maker of a brother.

The blond model raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you've been carrying around those things?" she asked, pointing to the pile of Solosis jellies, Snivy Pokedolls, and other items Ingo had been holding onto for the rest of his entourage.

Ingo nodded, but was unable to say anything else as the car that had just stopped at the platform opened and revealed a grinning Emmet who reached behind him and helped pull a dizzy Hilda out of the car. Elesa frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "Please don't puke on my cars," she grumbled.

"I'm not that sick," Hilda retorted. After a few seconds to regain her bearings, the trainer from Nuvema Town jumped up and struck a pose (feet spread, hips tilted, and finger obnoxiously pointed forward) directed to the Electric-type Gym Leader. "Elesa! Are you up for a Pokemon Battle?" Hilda yelled.

Elesa tilted her head, unsure of if she actually wanted to accept the offer. Sure, if she didn't it would go against League rules and her morals as a trainer, but the thought of engaging in battle with a teen on a sugar-high was not the more enticing idea. "I'm not sure that's the best idea..."

"Ah, you wouldn't be saying that if I said the winner could ask for any favour from the loser!"

That caught Ingo's attention. Somehow, the girl he wanted answers from had just given him a way to receive them. "Would you perhaps like a four-way battle?" he asked, catching the notice of the three other trainers. "Having Emmet and I participate would make it that much more exciting, would it not?"

Both Hilda and Elesa thought about it over Emmet's cries of 'Please? It'll be fun!' and agreed. "Sure, if we can have the last two standing get the favours," Hilda replied as she pulled out the Pokeball holding her trusty Audino. "It'd be nice to have a Subway Boss owe me a favour."

Elesa smirked and started to pull out her own Pokeball, noticing Emmet and Ingo do the same. "That's _if_ you win. I, for one, have no intention of losing if it means I can dress you up again!" Already the older woman was thinking of the various outfits and articles of clothing she could get away with shoving the teenager in.

Ingo said nothing as he released his Crustle onto the platform, following everyone else's movement to stand a corner. He would have his answers in time; all he had to do was win against an Electric-type Gym Leader, a grown man who preferred fighting in doubles and a 16-year old girl on a sugar-high.

* * *

><p>Too bad he lost. (To be fair, it had been Emmet who had beaten him in the end, so his record against the young Hilda White was still pristine and loss-free.)<p>

Ingo sat on the floor of his shared apartment, watching the movie on the television in boredom. To his left Emmet and Hilda lounged about on the couch, sharing popcorn and pointing out flaws in the movie ("Why the hell would Ash make a dogsled and use his Pokemon for that? He could have just hitched a ride on Charziard!" "Who cares, it looks cool!"). In the kitchen, Elesa was making herself a mug of coffee in an attempt to temporarily escape the chaos in the living room.

Apparently, the punishment for Ingo and Elesa (who had been horribly trounced by an overly-hyper grown male and a _16-year old) _was to rent out a couple of old-time classic movies and supply the junk food. It wasn't so bad; Ingo himself had told his brother "it could be a lot worse" before heading out to rent the DVDs. Now he was regretting it and wondering just why he had fed the two trainers more sugar when they had already eaten some cotton Drifblims and Solosis jellies before the match.

Ingo spotted Elesa at the edge of the kitchen eying the door longingly. With a glance to make sure Emmet and Hilda were busy staring at the screen (he doubted they would notice if a robber came and stole their Pokemon), the Subway Boss crept away until he was behind the couch. He then stood up, grabbed the keys on the kitchen counter with minimal noise, and proceeded to escort Elesa out of the apartment and away from the loud noises.

When Ingo walked into the apartment half an hour later(a quick run to the local Pokemart to pick up some more food for the Pokemon tomorrow was a perfect excuse to delay his return), he found the place to be quieter. The man slipped his shoes off and stepped into the living room to observe the damage.

Hilda was curled up on the couch and watching the muted screen with less intensity as she squeezed the Reuniclus Pokedoll that laid in her arms. Emmet had fallen asleep on the couch (sugar rush finally over) with the popcorn bowl still in his lap. There was still a bit of a mess, but at least things wouldn't be escalating any further.

Ingo put away the Pokefood before pushing his brother to the edge of the couch and sitting on the couch to Hilda's left (where his brother couldn't stretch his feet and kick him in his sleep). "How are you feeling?" he whispered.

"...Fine." Hilda whispered back after a few seconds. The young girl brought the Reuniclus doll closer to her chest, letting it engulf the lower half of her face. Her eyes never strayed from the television, but Ingo knew she wasn't seeing the animation. He wasn't even sure if she was aware of who she was talking to.

He didn't have to ask Hilda to elaborate, because she continued on after a moment to collect her thoughts. "It's hard...you know?" she asked, lifting her mouth from the head of the Pokedoll. "I've grown up with Hilbert all my life. When you're around someone for so long, you get used to them. You expect them to be right behind you—or somewhere nearby—whenever you turned around.

"But now," she took a deep breath and turned her gaze towards the floor, "Now I have no idea where he is. Mister Looker says he's been gone from League Headquarters for around a week now, and he's been without contact for at least 3 days. Stupid idiot didn't even tell anyone where he was going; just says he's going to tie up loose ends and then gets on a Golurk and flies off. He could be in Kanto right now and nobody would be the wiser."

Hilda sighed, seemingly deflating as the breath came out. "Can you imagine it, Ingo? Imagine Emmet missing from the Station for over a week and having no damn idea what happened to him or where he is?"

Ingo closed his eyes and let his fears be brought to the front of his mind. As the main caregiver for Emmet since they were young (and vice-versa, because everything was done in pairs for them), Ingo had become Emmet's confidant and second -no, third- guardian. He had to know where Emmet was when they were eight, in case the boy got too distracted by a suspicious Pokemon battle that wouldn't end well for either party. He had to know about Emmet's moods when they were twelve because Emmet was a completely different person during puberty and he rarely opened up when something had hurt him to the core. Even now, when Emmet was all smiles and enthusiastic greetings, Ingo still had to look out for his brother because Emmet was all that was left of his family and he was all that was left of Emmet's.

He was Emmet's invariable; the wheels on his train that kept him up and supported him forward. Ingo knew that it was the same for Emmet—he knew that as much as he took care of his brother, his brother took care of him.

Ingo opened his eyes and peered at his brother from over Hilda's head. His sleeping, peaceful, annoying, _safe and sound_ brother.

"I would go insane," the Subway Boss finally replied.

"Then you know what I'm going through." Hilda buried her face in the soft fabric of the Reuniclus doll. "It hurts, Ingo." she whined out.

"I know." The Subway Boss placed hand on Hilda's head and let his fingers tread through her hair as a gesture of comfort. It was what he used to do for Emmet when they were younger (still unaware of the rest of the world and trying to go through life one day at at time). "It'll get worse," Ingo continued, "But you'll get through it."

A sniffle. Hilda's slightly-watery eyes peered up from underneath bushy bangs. "Really?"

Ingo nodded. "You'll get through it; you're strong enough. And Mister Hilbert will be fine, because you're here waiting for him."

"That doesn't make sense, Ingo." Hilda argued, unsure of Ingo's train of thought.

"It makes complete sense," he argued back. "No fool would want to keep a girl waiting. Miss Hilda," Ingo leaned down and brushed some of her bangs back from her forehead to look her straight in the eye, "Miss Hilda, it will work out. Everything will be fine."

The young girl (a girl Ingo thought far too young to know anything about love or crushes or whatever feeling he felt for her) wavered for a second, then looked back with the focused and fiery eyes Ingo had grown used to seeing on her. "If you say so."

_End 1/2._

* * *

><p>Much like <em>Ditto<em>, _Missingno. _has been split into two parts due to word length. There will be a longer A/N in the second part. '_Fluffoughts! A Blitlze's Day in Summer_!' is a blatant shout-out to '_Leave in Summer, Yet You're In My Fluffoughts_' by baker-P (feat. Hatsune Miku). Sister would be proud.

Also, Ingo the Subway Ninja. Good name, yes? I had to add the flying Golurk comment. Golurk is like a gundam, which is probably why I named mine GunDAMN.

But yeah. One of the things about having siblings is that you have to look out for them, younger or not. I don't know if it's different when you have a big age gap, but when I was looking after my sister as a child it was hard. My sister's graduating, and I find that I still have to take care of her. Hah, a sibling's work is never done.


	6. Missingno, Part 2

Missingno.

(In which Hilda gets the scare of her life and Ingo is reminded of who Hilda really is.)

2/2

Ingo briefly wondered when he had become Hilda's pillar of strength over the days, but found that he didn't mind as much as he thought he would.

From the Tuesday when they had first encountered Looker to the current Monday, Hilda had gone through her routines half-heartily (his talk with her on Tuesday night had helped somewhat, but it didn't seem to be enough). Her childhood friends Bianca and Cheren had stopped by Nimbasa and taken the distracted trainer around for a day, but Hilda had returned to the Battle Subway the next day in the same daze. When Looker came by with more details on Hilbert's disappearance on Friday afternoon, Hilda was worse off for the rest of the evening. Finally, the quartet that made up Hilda's small group of friends decided that something needed to be done—and soon.

It was on this Monday that both Subway Bosses met with Hilda's friends in front of the Station entrance and tried to come up with a solution to Hilda's anxiety. While she wasn't as bad as she was at the amusement park, Hilda was still distracted enough to lose prematurely on every Battle Line she tried. Whenever she was out of Nimbasa exploring Unova for a day, she would be so distracted that her Pokemon would have to take twice the effort to finish battles without their trainer's commands and insightful input they had grown used to hearing.

"Mister Ingo," Cheren called out from underneath the muffler he wore over his mouth, prompting the Subway Boss to look up from the ground. "Would you have any idea on how to cheer Hilda up?"

"Mister Cheren, why are you asking me?"

Bianca let her fist fall on an outstretched mitten in realization at what Cheren had also found out. "Yeah! Mister Ingo should know the most about Hilda by now!"

Ingo blinked, then blinked again. "Pardon me, but I'm unsure as to how you have come across this-"

"It probably is true," Emmet interrupted, placing a hand underneath his chin. Together, he and Bianca stared at the black-garbed Subway Boss as they thought aloud. "Miss Hilda does spend a lot of time on his Battle line..."

"And she's been a bit more mopey whenever Mister Ingo isn't around..."

"And Miss Hilda always follows him like a lost puppy if she's at the Station..." Ingo's eyebrow twitched as he glared at Emmet. Cheren just shook his head and looked away from the spectacle laid out in front of him.

"I don't see Hilda talking as much to other people, too..."

"Oh, and she sleeps in Brother's room whenever she stays the night!"

The last comment froze the entire group. Slowly, all three trainers turned to look at Emmet, who was smiling while rubbing his chin with his thumb and pointer finger. Still in shock, Bianca and Cheren turned their heads to look at Ingo. The older Subway Boss flushed and shook his head, reaching forward and tugging on his brother's tie. "Emmet, that's not true and you know it! Miss Hilda prefers to sleep on the couch!"

Emmet chuckled and pulled away from Ingo's grasp. "Then why is it I saw her leaving your room this morning, hmm?"

"That's because you changed my clock to make me look like a fool—AGAIN!" Ingo roared as he lunged forward.

Cheren quickly interfered before Ingo could finish choking his brother to death. "While not all of those comments may be true, or appropriate, both Bianca and Mister Emmet have a point." he said.

Ingo released his brother's throat and looked down at the boy. "And what point has this idiot and Miss Bianca made?" he asked.

"Why, that you are the one Hilda relies on the most right now, of course." Cheren's eyeglasses shone in the light of the winter sun, shadowing his eyes and emphasizing the devious smirk the Champion-in-the-making wore. "You are Hilda's pillar of strength, and so you are the one who will have the most impact on her."

"Yeah!" Bianca nodded her head furiously and in one move had Ingo's hands clasped in her own as she waved their arms up and down. "It pains me to give her away so soon, but please take care of Hilda for us!"

Ingo's eyebrow stopped twitching as he quickly lost feeling in his forearms. "I believe this joke has gone on for long enough-"

"This isn't a joke." Cheren adjusted his glasses as he gave Ingo a glare impressive for a 16-year old. "Please take care of Hilda for us in this time of misfortune and for future times to come. Bianca, let's go."

The enthusiastic girl let go of Ingo's hands. "Eh? We're done here?"

"Of course we are. This situation will work itself out with time."

As Cheren and Bianca left the two Subway Bosses (Bianca continued to wave at the two until she had tripped over a snowbank, prompting Cheren to drag the girl away), Emmet looked up to the sky and mused. "It kind of sounded like they were giving her away for marriage," he thought aloud. Emmet turned towards his brother and froze. After a few seconds, the younger Subway boss snickered.

"Ingo, your face is all red!"

"Sh...Shut up, Emmet!" Ingo punched his brother's shoulder before stomping down into the Gear Station lobby to escape the laughing he could hear behind his back. As if to remind Ingo of the previous conversation (or maybe it was a twisted joke from a Legendary in the region), Hilda looked up from her spot on the floor of the Gear Station lobby.

Hilda's face brightened somewhat, and the girl gave the Subway Boss a small wave before turning back to the Solosis in her lap to recall it and move to Ingo's side. Ingo merely continued to walk as the trainer followed his every step.

Ingo looked back once they were at the Single Line station. The comments made not more than ten minutes ago came into the forefront of his mind. "Are you not bored, being around me for so long?" he asked.

"Nope!" Hilda replied. "I got through it before, and I can get through it again."

The Subway Boss merely blinked and shook his head, sighing before stepping into the last subway car and hearing Hilda do the same right behind him. Together, the two sat down and engrossed themselves in a conversation about the usefulness of certain berries during battle as the train started off into the maze of tunnels.

(Ingo realized ten minutes later that not a single Depot Agent had attempted to stop Hilda from entering the same car as him; he wasn't sure if this was because they assumed this was normal or because they didn't mind Hilda anymore.)

(Either way it should have unnerved him to have a 16-year old follow him, but it didn't. Maybe because it had already happened before and it also reminded him of a younger Emmet.)

* * *

><p>It was the morning of the 13th day Hilbert had gone missing that Ingo's daily routine for the past two weeks had been drastically altered.<p>

"I'm home!"

Hilda looked up from the coffee maker and Ingo looked up from the newspaper at the sound of the apartment door slamming closed. While the girl hadn't slept over at their apartment the previous night, she had been asked by Emmet to come in and keep Ingo company that morning. Neither Hilda or Ingo had thought anything of Emmet's odd request (if the man was planning anything, all they had to do was pull out the pink dye and his Subway Boss uniform the next time he was out), so when the younger Subway Boss had nearly blown the door off its hinges both trainers were confused.

"Emmet?" Ingo called towards the doorway. There was the sound of rustling fabric and a grunt from Emmet before the aforementioned Subway Boss peeked his head from the corner. "Emmet, what's going on?"

"Hold on a sec and I'll show you," Emmet replied. His head disappeared once more as more sounds followed, along with the sound of the door opening again. Ingo and Hilda shared a look before both put down the items in their hands (a section of the newspaper and an empty mug) and stood to creep closer towards the door.

"Don't move!" Emmet's voice called out. Ingo and Hilda froze, and both waited with baited breaths as Emmet finally closed the door.

Finally, Emmet peeked his head out from behind the wall separating the doorway from the rest of the apartment. He had a giant grin on his face that radiated warmth and joy. "So I got a call earlier this morning to grab someone from the Pokecenter," the Subway Boss started, "And guess who I picked up?"

"Who, Emmet?"

"Ta-da!" Emmet stepped back to make room for a short male dressed in jeans and a blue windbreaker to step forwards into the area joining the living room to the kitchen. The boy tilted his cap skywards to reveal bright brown eyes and a face that, while scratched up and bearing a few gashes, still bore a striking resemblance to Hilda's. His cap hid most of his hair, but the small bangs and ends that were visible were the same colour as Hilda's hair. Ingo could tell now, with the boy looking more wild and expressive that he had ever seen him before, how he and Hilda had managed to switch places when they were younger.

"Hey sis," Hilbert Black said, letting a tooth-filled grin fill his face.

Hilda froze for a second, then another before she raced forward and tackled the boy to the wooden floor. Emmet quickly stepped out of the way and moved to his brother's side as both men watched the siblings reunite.

Hilbert raised his torso and supported himself on his arms outstretched behind his back. "Woah! Hilda, what's with the-"

"You stupid idiot!" Hilda cried, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing him closer. "Hilbert, you stupid idiot! Why didn't you contact anyone?" Hilda buried her face into his chest and screamed, the sound muffled by his windbreaker.

Hilbert stared down at his sister's shaking shoulders (there was no way she'd openly cry in front of people) before closing his eyes in relief of his own and resting a hand on his sister's back. "I missed you too, sis."

Ingo watched on with the passing thought of if he would ever be like that with his brother again. The last time he had openly embraced Emmet was when they were around Hilda's age, during their father's funeral...

Ingo closed his eyes and walked away, pulling on Emmet's coat as he did. This was Hilda and Hilbert's private time; there was no reason to ruin it with his own thoughts.

* * *

><p>After thirteen days (technically, twelve days and half a morning) of Hilda's near-constant companionship, Ingo was feeling a bit lonely when he left to start off the thirteenth day on the Single Line alone. As such, it shouldn't have been much of a surprise to himself when realized that perhaps he was being a bit more attentive and responsive to the young girl when she did drop by into one of the employee-only offices for a visit.<p>

"Yeah, I'm heading up to Opelucid City with my brother right after I finish up some things here in Nimbasa," Hilda replied. Her hands tightened upon the backrest of a chair as she leaned on it, looking down at the gelled back hair that covered Ingo's head. A few seats away Emmet was hard at work and seemingly unaware of their conversation.

Ingo chuckled, glad to see the young trainer so enthusiastic at last. "You're not letting Mister Hilbert out of your sight, I see."

"Nope! He's not getting away from me until I'm sure he's safe and sound. I'll put him on a leash if I have to!"

Ingo's chair squeaked as he turned his chair to fully face Hilda and let his interlocked hands rest on his lap."The past two weeks have been really hard on you, hmm?" the Subway Boss asked in a quiet voice.

Hilda's voice was even harder to hear, since her voice was naturally quieter. "...Yeah. But it's okay now, since Hilbert's back."

"is it?" From the way Emmet's head had turned, it seems as if Ingo wasn't the only one who heard the doubt in Hilda's words.

"...No."

Emmet stood silently, feeling that the following conversation wasn't meant for his ears, and left his papers at his desk while he sneaked out the door as best as he could. The younger Subway Boss made eye contact with his brother and while it took only a few seconds and some hand gestures Ingo had already promised to tell Emmet of anything important. With one final smile, the Double Line Conductor slipped through the door and out of sight.

Ingo glanced at the barely-open door out of the corner of his eye and turned his attention back to Hilda when he noticed her squirm. "Miss Hilda, what is wrong?"

Hilda fidgeted in place for a few moments before she clenched her hands on the chair and muttered something past her lips.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I'm going with Hilbert to Sinnoh. There's reports of the last sage of Team Plasma being sighted near Mt. Coronet, and I'm being asked to go because of Reshiram's connection with both Hilbert and I." Hilda continued, never looking at Ingo once. "Hilbert...my brother said that while he was in Sinnoh, he also heard wind of Team Plasma's 'King' being in Hoenn, so I'll also be on the team going there."

Ingo felt his heart plummet into his stomach. "How long will you be gone?"

"If everything goes off without a hitch, maybe four months. If not...I could be gone for more than a year."

"One year..." Ingo repeated as he took a breath. Exhaling, the Subway Boss looked up at Hilda, who still refused to meet his gaze. "Miss Hilda," he breathed out, "Look at me."

Hilda paused before meeting Ingo's eyes. "Ingo, I don't want to be gone for so long. It's gonna hurt, being away from home for a long time. I'm going to be leaving all these people behind, and when I come back things are going to be different and people are going to have changed and-"

"Miss Hilda." Ingo snapped her out of her nervous blabbering by grabbing a hold of one of her hands and gripping it tightly. "Miss Hilda, remember what I said when you were worrying about your brother?"

"You would go insane?" Hilda asked.

Ingo shook his head, the faintest smile rising on his lips. "No, but I did say that. I told you, 'you'll get through it; you're strong enough'. That hasn't changed."

Hilda furiously shook her head from side to side. "But that's different-"

"No, no it isn't. Miss Hilda, as you age, you will continue facing challenges and obstacles that will aim to hurt you. Somtimes they will succceed." Ingo used his other hand to tilt Hilda's chin so she meet his gaze. "It is unfortunate that you have already experienced such trials already, but you have already survived. You will survive these next few trials, I know it."

"But what happens if I do live through a whole year and everything still changes? What is Cheren grows a beard and Bianca turns serious, or Elesa loses her job or some other stupid event I can't think of? I'll come back to Unova and it'll be so different that I can't deal with it and I'll go insane just like you said you would. Then I'll do something stupid, die, and then you'll have to explain to Emmet how his friend got pecked to death by Pidoves most likely!"

Ingo sighed. Sometimes teenagers worried for no apparent reason. " 'I am Ingo. I am not Emmet, nor will I even be'. I also said these words to you before, did I not?" The Subway Boss continued when Hilda nodded her head. "Then you can be sure that there is one thing that will never change. The Gear Station and all its employees will be here for you when you come back. You will always be welcome here."

"..." Hilda sniffled, and Ingo caught the beginning of some tears in her eyes that she quickly wiped away. "Thanks, Ingo."

Ingo smiled. It was nice to be right about one thing—Hilda was strong, and she would survive. "It is no problem at all, Miss Hilda."

There was silence in the office as Ingo slowly returned back to his paperwork as if unsure whether to say anything else to the young trainer. After a moment of awkwardness in the air, Hilda broke the silence once more as she leaned forward and rested her chin atop of Ingo's head. "Hey, Ingo?"

Ingo paused, his pen raised in the air as if to stab the paper, and replied to the trainer. "Yes?"

Hilda let out a grin that would have looked less out-of-place has it been on the face of a cunning woman like Elesa. While Ingo couldn't see the grin, he could feel all the tension and awkward feelings in the air dissipate as if they were never there. "Can you call me 'Hilda' when I come back?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you can and I want you to."

If it had been a couple of months ago that Hilda had asked, she would have been sharply rejected for various reasons. However, it was the last week of winter, and like the harsh ice and snow melting away to reveal Nimbasa City in all its glory Ingo's frown melted into a look of contemplation and affection that Hilda didn't quite manage to see from her spot atop his head.

"Perhaps. Defeat me in a Pokemon battle when you are stronger, and you shall receive your answer." Ingo replied.

"Just wait until I get back," Hilda cheered, pressing her chin downwards with more pressure. "I'll beat your face into the floor like I did with Emmet!"

"I'll be waiting," Ingo grumbled as he pushed Hilda's head off of his own.

_For as long as it takes until that one day arrives._

_End 2/2._

* * *

><p>Extra<p>

(In which Ingo gets the scare of his life and everyone is reminded of who Hilbert really is.)

Three days after Hilbert had been reunited with his sister (and her fist of righteous fury), both of the Subway Bosses found themselves eating lunch with the much younger trainers. They sat in the employee-only break room much like before. It was like when Hilbert wasn't so busy being champion and when Hilda wasn't so busy moping around.

Hilbert sipped on his juice before asking the question that had been on his mind when Emmet had picked him up at the Pokecenter. "So exactly how has Hilda been treating you two?" he asked, addressing both Ingo and Emmet. "Sis isn't exactly the best person to be around 24/7. Did she start spitting fire or growing a pair of horns?"

"Hilbert!" Hilda released her sandwich and lunged for her left, intent on getting a hold of Hilbert's throat.

Emmet swallowed his pasta and laughed. "Oh, Miss Hilda was great to be around," he replied to the boy. "She slept over at times and helped us whenever we were running late."

Hilda ceased in her attacks at the praise and Hilbert took to moment to pry his sister's hands off of him. "Really?" Hilbert asked.

"It's true," "Yup!" Ingo and Emmet chorused together.

"No privacy issues or anything?" Hilbert's eyebrow raised. Somehow, he didn't see Hilda staying the night in a male-only apartment without something going on. He didn't wait for Emmet's answer before he went back to sipping his juice and nipping at his sandwich.

"Well, there were times when Miss Hilda and Ingo would be in his room together, but that's about it." Emmet stated, looking up towards the ceiling in thought as he answered. "Oh, and there was the time with the movies when I 'fell alseep' and you got rea-lly close to her, Brother!" he added, glancing towards his brother with a suspiciously too-sweet grin on his face.

The three other Pokemon trainers froze. Hilda wore a look of shock and surprise on her face (face first turning white, then as pale as Emmet's jacket) while Ingo glared at his brother for saying something suggestive _again_. Hilbert paused, swallowed his bite of his sandwich, and leveled a frosty glare at Ingo's head, which prompted the man into action.

Ingo exploded at his brother. "Why do you keep doing this? Miss Hilda was in my room because you either did something to my alarm clock or _to me_!"

Hilda's lips opened and closed repetitively (Emmet noted with amusement that she looked much like a fish) before she found her voice and cried out. "You were awake the entire time?"

Hilbert stood up after Hilda's outburst (situation blown out of proportion, because in one of the adult novels he had read younger girl plus older man plus movies had turned into an R-18 situation) and stepped up to Ingo's side. "Nap room, now." he ordered before turning around and heading into the nap room himself.

Ingo glared at Emmet before standing up and following Hilbert. Hilda and Emmet sat alone in the break room in silence before a couple of shouts and sounds of scuffling erupted from the nap room.

Hilda gave Emmet a look of annoyance. "Why do you always rile Ingo up like that?" she asked over the noise coming from next door.

"Because it's fun~" Smirking, Emmet reached forward and stabbed a piece of ravioli from Ingo's thermos with his fork. "Plus, I want his lunch."

The girl merely sighed. "What a day," she muttered as she placed her elbows on the table and laid her head in her hands. Patiently, she waited for her brother and Ingo to finish their manly spat as Emmet continued to steal mouthfuls of food across from her.

After a couple of minutes, the door opened to reveal a frowning and paler-than-usual Ingo, who was quickly followed by a stern-looking Hilbert. "Remember; I am the League Champion for a reason, Mister Ingo."

"Yes, I quite know that already," Ingo spat out as he sat down and started to eat whatever was left of his pasta. What was noted was how Ingo seemed to flinch when Hilbert walked past him, and how the man never looked the 16-year old boy in the eye.

Hilda waited until her brother had seated himself at his spot before speaking up. "Do I want to know what happened?"

"No," Hilbert and Ingo replied together as they went back to their respective lunches.

Emmet merely snickered at the whole situation and smiled at Hilda, who blinked in confusion before shrugging her shoulders and going back to her sandwich.

* * *

><p><em>*Headcannon:<em> Hilbert reads adult novels, mostly because he's that bored and Shauntal writes good smut for a woman who likes to focus on mystery and friendship novels.

And so ends the fourth installment in the _Twin Switch_ universe! While this oneshot (as a whole) is rather lengthy, I believe that most of the dialogue and scenes were necessary. I had fun writing the scene with Bianca and Cheren; I don't see them as the type to sit back and watch their friends enter unfamiliar territory. They want the best for Hilda, and if they have to dirty their hands then so be it.

I like writing about Hilbert. I always see him as this determined, self-driven Pokemon Trainer who overcame obstacles and ended up at the top. I hope the headcannons don't affect your reading experience badly. I've been shoving them in a lot and I'm really trying not to do that. But hey, no cliffhanger!

As always, I'd like some input and feedback from the community. I'm constantly encouraged by your words, but I'd still like to know if I'm heading in the right direction. Thank you for reading, and have a very wonderful day/night!


	7. Relief

Relief

(In which Ingo misses Hilda, but goes about dealing with it the wrong way.)

1/1

The first three months of Hilbert and Hilda's journey were the hardest for the people the Gear Station and the Battle Subways within. To be more precise, the first three months of Hilda's leave were the hardest for a particular Subway Boss.

Ingo sighed as he let his legs collapse and his body slump against the blue Subway seat. Through the windows across from him, the Subway Boss could see the concrete pillars blur by as the train continued to speed through the per-determined route. All the doors to the 21st car were closed and locked as battles rang out in the back and control panels were moderated in the front.

The man brought a hand up to his conductor's cap and removed it, setting it on the seat besides him as he ran his fingers through his hair in exhaustion and annoyance over the day's workload. Getting up to work every day had never seemed so tiring to the Subway Boss before (even if he was ahead of his paperwork for once), and he had to wonder why it was the case now.

Unfortunately, the reason why probably had something to do with the way Hilda would force him to cease working and sleep sometime before 3AM in order to feel rested for the next day. Ever since the young trainer had left with her twin brother for Sinnoh and Hoenn, Ingo had been neglecting some of the small things Hilda had made him abide to.

_"Ingo," Hilda started, feeling a bit like a doting mother hen, "How many hours of sleep did you get last night?"_

Ingo sighed and closed his eyes, letting his left hand pinch the bridge of his nose as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs. He was hallucinating—it was the only excuse as to why he was hearing things that had been told months ago in the winter season. The lack of sleep was finally settling itself into every bone in his body, and the man wanted nothing more to just close his eyes and doze off in his seat until he would be waken up.

_Hilda grumbled as she tugged on the fabric grasped in her hands and started towards the stairs leading to the second floor of the Gear Station. "Do we need a repeat of the last time you fell asleep on the Single Line?"_

In fact, Ingo mused, his eyelids were strangely growing heavier, and the man found it harder to keep his head up and his mind alert. The Subway Boss briefly wondered whether to inform the Conductor of his journey into sleep, but found that he simply couldn't find the energy in himself to care. With a final look out the window (gray stone blurring everywhere and the light of a tunnel lamp being the only deviant from the mundane colour), Ingo shut his eyes and slumped forwards a little more.

"My apologies, Miss Hilda." the man muttered to himself through his hand as he lost a hold of his consciousness. "I seem to indeed be falling asleep..."

…

"Brother."

Ingo's face tightened into a grimace before his eyelids opened and he came face to face with a blurry visage of a face eerily similar to his own. "Emmet?" he croaked out, his voice slightly breaking from a lack of usage. He must have been asleep for two hours at the very least.

Emmet's frown grew. "Ingo, you do know you fell asleep on the Single line, right?" the Double Line Subway Boss asked his brother, arms crossed over his chest and bright eyes narrowed in worry.

Ingo blinked once to clear the tendrils of sleep from his brain, then again as he started to recognize the shapes and blobs of colour around him. The light blue pile to his right was a folded blanket atop a bed, and slightly ahead of it was a maroon-red chair like the one Emmet was seated in. Ingo looked up to the ceiling and shut his eyes to protect them from the fluorescent light.

Dear Arceus, he was in the nap room. Ingo was silent as he stared up at his brother (his frowning, irritated, finger-tapping-on-his-arm brother) and replied. "It appears that I did fall asleep on the Single Line."

Emmet's frown grew to the same size as Ingo's usual grumpy one as the man threw his hands up in the air. "Brother, this is the second time these past two months you've fallen asleep-"

"This is also the second time I have found myself mysteriously placed in the nap room. Tell me, Emmet, who keeps carrying me-"

"Brother," Emmet growled out, which forced his older brother to fall silent. "For Mew's sake Ingo, you're supposed to set an example for the other employees! Running yourself ragged, refusing to sleep, and then napping on the job when there are trainers waiting for you is a big no-no!"

" 'No-no'?" Ingo echoed, amused at Emmet's choice of words. "Emmet, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that-"

"Save the cracks for when you don't collapse every time I turn away from you," the white-clad Subway Boss grumbled. Ingo watched as Emmet left his seat and stomped out towards the door, which opened with a large '_blam'_ and closed just as loudly. Ingo waited for a moment, then another, before he heard his brother let out a large cry of frustration in the break room on the other side of the door.

Ingo sighed, bringing a hand up to shield his eyes from both the lights above and the guilt eating away at his insides. He had managed to get Emmet pissed; what an accomplishment.

As if to eat away at the Subway Boss even more, Emmet's voice broke through the silence. "If Miss Hilda was here, things would be fine," Ingo heard his brother's muffled voice grumble before footsteps drowned out any other words. Ingo wasn't even sure if Emmet meant for him to hear that comment; it sounded more like something Emmet was trying to tell himself.

It didn't stop the Subway Boss from turning over in his bed to face the other side of the room. Ingo caught a glimpse of his Subway Boss uniform on the bed across from him and he sighed.

"Idiot," the man muttered out into the room, where silence was the only thing to greet him.

* * *

><p>For the following week, Ingo had been smothered with attention much like a child would be; it embarrassed and infuriated the Subway Boss to no end.<p>

"Emmet," Ingo spoke up from his seat at the kitchen table. The clock nearby read "10:02PM" as Emmet paused in his watchful check over their late-night dinner. "It isn't necessary for you to coddle me; I will not drop dead at any moment."

Emmet didn't say anything until after he had place the ladle onto the kitchen counter and turned off the stove now that the soup was done. "I wouldn't have to coddle you if you knew how to take care of yourself, brother. For Mew's sake, you're a grown man!"

It seems as if Emmet was still angry and worried over Ingo's latest nap while on-shift. With a frown of annoyance, Ingo stood from his seat and leaned against the table. "I could take better care of myself if _someone_ bothered to do both his paperwork and deal with his insurance claims. With all the damage done on the Double Line-"

"Ingo, don't put the blame on me," Emmet retorted as he grabbed two bowls and started to ladle the soup into the ceramic containers. "You're just acting like a spoiled brat who's had his favourite toy taken from him. You're not the only one who misses Miss Hilda and Mister Hilbert, you know."

"I am not acting like a 'spoiled brat', nor does this have anything to do with Miss Hilda, " Ingo spat out, grabbing the filled bowls from Emmet's outstretched hands and slamming them on opposite sides of the table. "And I am not blaming you for anything; I am just saying that perhaps if you took the time to do your duties, then perhaps I might have more time to sleep."

"Brother, that's what we call 'blaming someone'. Hard to get, I know."

Ingo's frown grew in side and depth as the edges of his lips seem to reach his jawline. "Emmet, cease with the jokes."

Emmet wiped the smirk off his face before he turned around and faced Ingo with ladle in hand, a pseudo-frown as big as Ingo's on his own face. "Ingo, cease with the crabbiness," he replied in his brother's exact tone of voice.

The Double Line Subway Boss barely had time to bring his ladle up in defense as Ingo lunged forward with a cry ripping through the air. Neither of them noticed the doorknob to their apartment door turning with a small '_click_'.

* * *

><p>"Are you two done now?" Elesa asked with a sigh. The Gym Leader stretched her legs out on the couch and looked on the following scene in boredom. "Or am I going to have to restrain you both <em>again<em>?"

From her spot on the couch in the living room, the blond model had the perfect view that included both Subway Bosses in her line of vision. The scene might have looked normal if the only men in the room were not glaring daggers at the other and being forced to sit in chairs on opposite sides of the room.

"You know," Elesa continued, catching the attention of both Ingo and Emmet, "When I came here around 10PM, I didn't expect to find two grown men rolling around the kitchen floor like _little preschoolers._" Said men looked down towards their laps in embarrassment and shame, but Elesa continued. "When I get the story out of one man, it makes me realize how _childish_ and _stupid_ the both of you are acting."

"Miss Elesa, you don't understand-" "But he said-" Ingo and Emmet spoke out. Elesa raised a hand in the air, stopping the two brothers.

"I don't care what the other said or did." Elesa stood from her seat and crossed her arms over her chest, instantly going into serious mode. "Ingo, you're the older one—you should know when to be mature about things. You should also know to take care of yourself, because Emmet can't take care of both you and the Battle Subway at the same time."

Emmet smirked, glad his brother was getting chewed out by someone other than him. Elesa immediately turned and gave him a glare as well. "Emmet, even if you're the younger one it doesn't give you the right to antagonize your brother and coddle him for a week out of spite. I don't care how childish Ingo was being—you shouldn't respond the same way. Am I clear, guys?"

"...Yes, Miss Elesa." "Yeah, Elesa."

The Electric-type Trainer smirked. "Good, then." Turning around, Elesa sauntered off towards the kitchen. "Aren't you two going to eat? The soup's not there for nothing, after all."

"Give us a moment!" Emmet replied, turning to face his brother with a smaller frown on his face. "Ingo," the Subway Boss called out.

Ingo bit his lip and turned his head away, not quite ready yet to face his brother. "What is it?"

"If you miss Miss Hilda, just give her a call or something." Emmet's frown flipped upside down the moment his brother froze in his seat. "Don't think I didn't notice how you didn't mention Mister Hilbert earlier."

"Shut up, Emmet." Ingo warned. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now."

Emmet ignored his brother's words and continued to taunt the older man from his spot on the wooden chair. "If you're going to be this way whenever Miss Hilda leaves, then I'm either going to stay somewhere else or just chain her to you—Brother, put the chair down!"

Quick to come to the rescue, Elesa stepped forward and held Ingo's forearm in a vice-like grip as she waited for the man to set the wooden chair down of his own accord. When the Subway Boss reluctantly set the furniture aside, the Gym Leader gave a curt nod and pulled lightly on the man's arm to lead him towards the kitchen.

The moment Ingo stepped into the kitchen, Elesa let go of Ingo's arm and turned towards his brother. "Emmet, what did I say about you antagonizing your brother?"

"Not to do it?"

"And what were you doing?"

"..." Emmet pouted, turning his head away from Elesa and towards the curtain-shut window. "Antagonizing him."

Elesa tapped the heel of her foot against the wooden floor and waited for the man to continue.

Emmet sighed, standing up and rubbing the back of his head. "I won't do it again, I promise." The man made no effort to tell Elesa of how the hand behind his head discreetly crossed its fingers as he made his promise.

That seemed to satisfy the Nimbasa City Gym Leader as she uncrossed her arms and let the frown slide off her face. "Okay then. C'mon, let's all eat." Elesa gestured towards the table, where there were three bowls of lukewarm soup (heated up and ready to consume) sitting on the surface. The utensils were being collected by Ingo, who was also collecting cups in an effort to ignore the two in the living room.

"Coming," When Emmet was close enough, the Subway Boss turned to Elesa and asked a question that had been nagging at him the moment she had come into their apartment. "Elesa, why'd you come by?" While Elesa had been showing up more lately and more at a later time recently, the Gym Leader always had a reason for coming; time was precious to Elesa, and the woman wouldn't waste a single minute.

"Oh." Elesa stepped ahead of Emmet and seated herself at one end of the table, leaving the bowls in the center and the other end for Ingo and Emmet. "I wanted to tell you guys that Hilda left a message for you two."

Neither Elesa nor Emmet commented on Ingo's groan.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes after Emmet had finally finished his soup, the trio of Nimbasa adults-who-acted-like-children found themselves seated in the living room once more. The main difference this time was the fact that the hostility in the air had lessened to a reasonable level; it mattered not that Ingo and Emmet sat on opposite ends of the couch.<p>

Elesa smiled as she finished setting up her Xtransceiver. "And it's good to go!" she announced, scooting backwards until her back hit the couch. All three adults watched with baited breath as Elesa pressed 'Play' and static filled the television screen.

"Have you seen the message already, Elesa?" Emmet asked.

Elesa shook her head. "No, I wanted to see it when you guys were here. Now hush, it's starting!"

At her words, Ingo and Emmet turned towards the television screen, where the static had been replaced with a blurry finger pressing against the lens of the Xtransceiver. "Hilbert, shut up!" Hilda's muffled voice rang out through the speakers, the sound choppy and mixed with the buzz from the electronic.

Finally, the finger pressing against the lens disappeared, and all three adults found themselves face-to-face with a grinning Hilda donned in winter traveling gear. To her left was her brother Hilbert and to her right was an unfamiliar female with black hair that had a blue sheen to it. "Hey guys," Hilda waved from her spot in the center. "I'm sorry this is going to be a recorded message; the connection here is pretty unstable-"

"Maybe that's because we're on a mountain in another region," Hilbert interrupted.

"Brother, shut up!" Elesa giggled and Emmet chuckled at the screen; Ingo remained stoic and quiet as the video continued. "Anyways," Hilda turned from her brother and gestured towards the female on her left who gave a short wave. "This is our guide for the Sinnoh region, Dawn Platinum. She's Professor Rowan's assistant, like Bianca. She's been a great help in navigating the less-known paths!"

"Hello Miss Elesa, Mister Ingo, and Mister Emmet," Dawn greeted, her voice a pitch higher than Hilda's low and natural voice. "Hilda has been telling me a lot about you three; she's very fond of you all!"

"Dawn, don't embarrass me on camera like this!"

Hilbert continued from where Hilda had left off, shifting something to his right so the Xtransceiver lens faced him. "We called to update the status on our search, since it's been around three months already," he spoke up, ignoring his sister's cry of 'three months and two days!'. "We're in a group of six—the other three members are asleep right now—and we're on Mt. Coronet. So far, we've been going along at a good pace; nobody's been injured yet, and the Pokemon are getting used to the colder conditions."

Hilda's face pushed past Hilbert's and took up the majority of the screen. "We just may be able to come home on time!" the girl cheered, her mood infectious to the adults sitting in the living room. From her spot on the floor, Elesa giggled and Emmet chuckled.

"Hilda," Dawn spoke up, "Don't get so cocky. You don't want to jinx things, do you?"

Ingo closed his eyes and let his small smile grow the slightest as he heard Hilda grumble on the television screen. "Fine," the young trainer muttered. "Ruin my mood, why don't you?"

Hilbert pointed at something past the lens, catching Hilda's attention. "Hilda, we're running out of time. There's only a minute of recording time left."

"Ah!" Hilda's face turned away from Dawn to face the camera. "Yeah, so anyways we're doing good and—no, Hilbert don't push me—and we miss you guys!"

"What sis said," Hilbert said when the Xtransceiver turned towards him. "As much as I like the Sinnoh region, there's still Hoenn left to search and I'm a bit homesick."

"Yeah yeah, let's move on to the message and reminders. Elesa, no going after younger men for obivous reasons! Emmet, don't be such an ass to your brother; you go a little far with the taunts at times. Ingo, try to take care of yourself and get enough sleep. Miss you—augh, no-!" Hilda's face and voice were cut off as the Xtransceiver ceased recording and turned black. The small digits in the corner of the screen read "0:00" and continued to blink until Elesa had pressed the power button on her own Xtransceiver to turn it off.

The living room was silent as Elesa collected all the wires and cables. Once finished, the Gym Leader turned towards the two Subway Bosses and gave a smile to them both. "So," she trailed off, "They sure looked well. It was nice to hear from them both."

Emmet nodded. "Yup! Miss Hilda seemed verrrrrry energetic!"

Ingo merely gave the smallest of smiles. "They are alright," he muttered softly.

Elesa grinned, and Emmet smirked. "Ingo, you sound extremely happy," she noted.

"Happy?" Ingo closed his eyes and stood, swaying slightly as he did. "No, Miss Elesa. I am merely relieved." Without looking at the two, the Subway Boss turned on the ball of his foot and headed towards his room.

Emmet's smirk grew to the size of Elesa's grin. "He's happy," the man stated decisively.

Elesa replied to him with a nod. "I think Ingo'll be okay now for the rest of the time Hilda's gone."

Emmet couldn't find it in himself to disagree.

_End._

* * *

><p>Extra<p>

(In which Ingo realizes he misses Hilda, and goes about dealing with it in a better way.)

"Did you send a message to Miss Hilda?" Emmet immediately asked the following morning as soon as Ingo had entered the kitchen. The man was all smiles and happy feelings; his previous anger, worry, and animosity seemed to have disappeared overnight.

Ingo froze, unsure of how to react with his brother's new found attitude towards him. "...Yes. She should receive it in the next few days," he finally replied before stepping around Emmet and heading towards the coffee maker.

Emmet merely turned around and grinned, watching as his brother went through his morning rituals. It wasn't until Ingo turned around with an eyebrow raised that the man moved forward. "What did you tell Miss Hilda?" he asked as he leaned against a counter.

Ingo shrugged, sipping his cup of coffee. "I just told Miss Hilda how the Battle Subways were faring during the time she has been away."

"Did you tell her how Elesa had changed the roller coaster layout in her gym?"

"Yes." Ingo replied absent-mindlessly as he continued to drink caramel-coated coffee.

"Did you tell her how her friend Mister Cheren had managed to beat three Elite Four members last week?"

"Yes."

Emmet smirked, going for the kill. "Did you tell her how much you missed her and how you wanted her in your arms?"

"Yes—wait, what?"

Emmet cackled, holding his sides at the sight of Ingo's shocked look. "Ah, that look is priceless!" he cried out through his laughter. "It's such a perfect-"

The man was cut off when Ingo brought a knee up and hit him in the stomach. With a groan, Emmet slumped to the floor as he continued to hold his sides—this time in pain. "Ingo, what was that for?"

"For making a fool out of me for the past week." Ingo's words held no real malice to them; it seemed as if the man had mulled over his past actions the night before and lived up to his responsibilities as the eldest of the two.

"Aw, do you forgive me then?" At the nod of Ingo's head, Emmet cheered and jumped up. "Yay! But seriously, what did you tell Miss Hilda?"

Ingo went back to sipping on his mug of coffee, not looking at his brother once. "I told you; I merely informed her of how things have been faring while she has been away."

"Did you really tell her how much you miss her?"

"..." Ingo put the empty mug in the sink and turned for the mudroom. "If I said yes, would you use it against me?"

"No, not at all." Emmet told the truth as the man started to brew his own mug of coffee. "What else happened?"

The Double Line Subway Boss never saw the bright smile that graced his brother's lips. "I had a good night's sleep." Ingo replied, heading out the door with more energy than he'd ever had in the three months Hilda had been gone.

Only eight months and twenty-eight more days to go.

* * *

><p>And so ends a rather odd and choppy installment to the <em>Twin Switch<em> universe. I just wanted to get this done in order to fill in the year-long gap between _Missingno _and what I hope is the year-after installment I'm trying to type up. I also wanted to type this because I wanted to show how Ingo is like without Hilda; it's funny how people forget that characters had a life before the other person in the relationship came along.

(Argh, I really want to re-do this; something doesn't feel right. Oh well, maybe I'll come back to this when other things are finished.)

Anyways, thank you all very much for your reviews and replies! I must sound like a broken record at this point, but I really am thankful for the feedback and such. I hope I continue to entertain you all as the story continues to roll. Thank you all and have a great morning/night! /_runs off to birthday parties galore_


	8. Unown

Unown

(In which Hilda misses Ingo in a different way, but has difficulty understanding why.)

1/1

Sinnoh sunsets never looked more amazing than from the top of the highest peak in the region, where the only noise was from the wind howling from behind and the sounds of various flying Pokemon gliding through the air currents beneath your feet. The cloudy sky, which had seemed so ominous and depressing a few hours ago, was lit ablaze with muted reds, purples, and pinks as the sun's rays started to fade into nighttime.

Hilda White took a deep breath, feeling the cold air sting the inside of her throat and numb her cheeks. It was the last time she would feel it though, so it wasn't as much of a deal as it had been before when they all first started their trek up Mt. Coronet. Those days were behind the search team, as they were now up on Spear Pillar looking for clues as to the whereabouts of Team Plasma's 'king' with the case of the final sage also coming to a close—Ghestis left enough clues behind for the team to determine that he was in Hoenn as well by this point.

"Hilda, we're done here!" Dawn called a little ways behind. Sighing, the Nuvema Town trainer picked herself up off the ledge she had been perched on for the past hour or so. She shook whatever snow had clung onto her in that time off of her clothing and made her way to their team's navigator, who was standing near one of the few upright pillars in the clearing.

"I'm amazed the hail and wind didn't knock that thing over," Hilda commented as soon as she was close enough. Smiling, Dawn turned away from the marble structure and let her fingers trace the grooves as she walked away.

"Spear Pillar rarely changes appearance-wise; It looks the same as it was four years ago," the lab assistant spoke fondly of the ruins like Hilbert spoke of Dragonspiral Tower; the place obviously held much sentimental value to Dawn as it did to the Nuvema trainer. With a shift of her bare legs (the Sinnoh native must have been really used to the cold, if she could climb a mountain in a skirt), Dawn leaned closer to Hilda. "Anyways, didn't you say you wanted to talk to me in private earlier? Now would be a good enough time before we head off to Hoenn."

Hilda surveyed the debris-ridden ruins; Hilbert was off investigating at a fallen pillar a few yards away while Wally and the other members of the team were setting up camp away from Spear Pillar. Reshiram turned his head the moment he felt Hilda's gaze on him, but all the Dragon Pokemon did was let out a huff and turn away. "I guess so, though this isn't what I was thinking of earlier."

"Take what you can get," Dawn advised. "Is this about the Xtransceiver call you got a couple of weeks ago? The one with Mister Ingo in it?"

"Eh?" Hilda cried, her gloved hands raising up in alarm.

Before the 16-year old could ask, Dawn giggled and answered Hilda's unasked question. "I saw you reviewing the message after breakfast this morning," she explained. "You should really try to adjust the settings of your screens next time; they're pretty transparent. If Hilbert saw them-"

"Ah, don't even say that!" Lurching forward, Hilda placed a palm over Dawn's mouth and held up a finger for secrecy. "I swear, you'll jinx me!"

Dawn's muffled replies made no sense to Hilda, so the girl removed her hand. "Let me breath next time you do that," Dawn spoke up once she had inhaled enough air to satisfy her greedy lungs, "Anyways, why do you want answers from me? If it deals with someone from your region, shouldn't you ask Hilbert about it?"

"No, I wanted to ask you!" Hilda replied. "You're a girl; how do you know if you have a crush on someone?"

The air around the two females seemed to stale as Dawn gave Hilda something akin to her version of an incredulous look. "I meant it in a hypothetical way!" The Unova native quickly added.

"No you didn't." Dawn leveled Hilda a smug look, which the girl responded to with narrowed eyes. "Hypothetical or not, I'm not really the one you should be asking. I work with Pokemon more than I work with humans. Besides, it's like trying to define love; everyone has different opinions and definitions of it."

"Oh." Hilda's demeanor deflated quickly, her slumped shoulders visible under the puffy winter jacket. "Does this mean you can't help me?"

Dawn made a small noise at the back of her throat. "Not really, no. I can't really say I've ever felt attraction to _someone_. Why don't you try asking Wally?"

"Wally?" the brown-haired girl parroted. Hilda's head turned back towards the small campsite nearby where the aforementioned male sat with his Gardevoir and the other members (Hilbert now included) with a shy smile on his face. "Why Wally, of all people?"

"Well," Dawn paused, her face scrunching up before she regained her voice and spoke again. "Wally has more experience in this sort of thing than I do. Just ask him."

"Fine, but him only. Don't tell anyone about this, please." Hilda whined. "The boat at Canalave City takes like five days to get to Hoenn, right?"

"If we catch the right boat," Dawn added. "We'll be in Canalave by Wednesday, so you'll just have to wait a little over a week or so. Try to talk to Wally within that time frame."

"One week; I can do that."

One week to Hoenn – seven months and six days to Unova.

* * *

><p>Hilda's first impression of Hoenn was that there was a lot of water and not enough land. Her second impression was that Hoenn should think of using planes because boats were slow because what was originally one week turned into a week and a half.<p>

After their initial landing in Slateport City (in which Hilda and Hilbert both swore to stick to the land and air for the rest of their lives), the entire search team split up to do their individual duties for a couple of days before the search started once more.

On the first day, Dawn dragged Hilbert to Slateport City's marketplace to stock up on supplies, Janina and Cal (two other members on the team, hailing from Johto and Kanto respectively) explored the city's main sites like the museum and Contest hall, Wally booked them all rooms at the Pokecenter, and Hilda crashed in one of said rooms.

Groaning, Hilda spread her arms out and leaned forward, landing on the bed with a soft '_thump_'. "Bed, how I missed you!" she sighed out into the fabric of the blanket she wrapped around herself. Once she was seated comfortably, the Unova native pulled out her trusty Xtransceiver (still dinged and slightly banged up) and turned the electronic device on.

'One _saved message_,' the machine read. Hilda smiled and clicked the 'PLAY' button, watching as a semi-transparent screen shot up into the air and started to play the video.

"Hello, Miss Hilda." Ingo's voice greeted, his face blurred due to the low amount of light in his room and the fact that his Xtransceiver was an older model. It did nothing to hide the small smile on his lips. "I hope you are well in your travels; I am unsure as to how far your team will have progressed by the time this video reaches you."

"Not very far," Hilda muttered, thinking back to the day she had first received the message from Ingo. From the date on the video, it had been at least three days after she had sent the prerecorded message that included Hilbert and Dawn. If Hilda remembered correctly, there was a nasty freak snowstorm blowing through their path around that time (Why would there be a snowstorm in the summer?), which had delayed the group for four days.

"The Gear Station has been faring rather well in your absence; Emmet hasn't permanently destroyed anything and Miss Elesa has been attending more photo shoots as of lately." The Subway Boss paused, looking up in thought. "Your friend, Mister Cheren, has also managed to come close to defeating all in the Elite Four. If I recall correctly, he was bested by Marshal, but I believe the boy will try his hand once more by the end of this week."

"Wow, Cheren," Hilda laughed out,never noticing the knock on her door or how the hinges creaked as the door slowly opened to reveal a willowy boy standing by her door frame. "I thought he had his team specifically prepped for Marshal-"

"Hilda?" Wally called out.

Quickly snapping up from her place on the bed (hiding the screen of the Xtransceiver from the green-haired boy's view), Hilda looked towards the open door frame spilling light into the room. "Oh, hey Wally," she greeted while discreetly pressing a button on the Xtransceiver that retracted the video message and set the machine on stand-by mode. "You looking for Hilbert? I think he's off at the Marketplace stocking up."

The Hoenn native shook his head and gestured towards the bed. "No, I'm here to talk to you. Do you mind if I sit?" he asked.

"Um, go ahead."

Once Wally was seated on the side of the bed across from her, Hilda piped up. "So, what's up?" she asked, unsure of how to treat the older boy. Wally wasn't one of the team members she often talked to, and most of the time the boy stuck to himself or to Hilbert's company.

"Dawn told me you wanted to know what a crush felt like."

There went Dawn's head in Hilda's mind. "She _told_ you?" Hilda repeated. "I told her not to tell anyone!"

Wally's shoulders shook, and while Hilda couldn't really see all of his face she could tell that he was smiling. "Dawn decided that you took a bit too long to ask me for advice, so she took matters into her own hands." he explained.

Hilda's own shoulders slumped. "Oh," she muttered, feeling rather foolish and embarrassed at the fact that she had to rely on a boy she barely connected with. "Well, do you know what having a crush is like?"

"Hilda, that's like trying to define love."

"Yeah, Dawn told me the same thing."

"For good reason," Wally sighed and leaned back, resting his weight against his hands pressed into the mattress below. "Hilda, I'm going to tell you my story; please try to see if you can find your answer within the tale. I don't think I'd be able to explain it any other way."

The Unova native nodded, unsure of how to react. "Sure, just go ahead I guess." she encouraged, pulling off her hat in preparation for what she assumed would be a long tale.

Wally took a deep breath, looked away towards the wall across from him, and spoke up after a few minutes of collecting his thoughts. "I was around twelve when I first met Brendan and May. I wasn't really as sporty and healthy as I am now; back then I was really sick and couldn't breath at times. My family lived in Petalburg Town, which housed the fifth gym of the Hoenn League.

"May was the daughter of the Petalburg Gym Leader," the soft spoken boy continued. "Brendan was a lab assistant for Professor Birch, and had been allowed to go with May on her Pokemon journey. Together, the two helped me catch my first Pokemon—a Ralts— so I could travel with them for a short while."

From there, Wally spun a shortened version of his tale. The boy weaved pictures in Hilda's head; interpretations of what May and Brendan might have looked like back when they were all traveling on their journeys, or what Brendan might have looked like the moment he was declared the Champion of the Hoenn Pokemon League a couple of years ago.

"After Brendan became champion," Wally started to drift off into more recent moments, his tale drawing to a close, "I went with him to say goodbye to May; she was going off to Sinnoh for more Pokemon Contests. Brendan went back to Ever Grande City to continue acting as Champion while I started to travel the other regions and help out friends of Professor Birch. It's how I met Dawn, and how I came to be a part of the search team. "

Wally spoke of such adoration whenever he mentioned either May or Brendan, but something in his voice spoke to Hilda. "Did you like May?" she asked after Wally paused to take a breath and sooth his throat—it seemed that even after the years of treatment, the abuse Wally's throat had gone through in the past hadn't healed completely.

"Yes, I believe so, though I don't know if I still do now." he replied. "May is just someone that lights up the room with a single smile. She's adventurous and down-to-earth while managing to be classy enough to win Beauty contests with little effort. I looked up to her when I started my journey; maybe it was because she helped me catch Ralts and train him, or maybe it was because I traveled with her."

"How did you know you liked her?"

Wally closed his eyes. "I...It's hard to explain. We were just relaxing at Lilycove City near the lighthouse one day, and when I turned around to face May I just thought 'I want to be with her forever'. All these feelings I felt for the girl kind of meshed into one huge mess of adoration."

Hilda waited for him to continue with a shaky breath. "I don't even know why," Wally continued. "I hadn't really thought of May as someone other than a close friend before then, but I saw her looking off into the distance towards Ever Grande City, and I thought she just looked beautiful in the light of the sunset. When they say that you'll get butterflies in your stomach, they weren't kidding."

"It might have been the food," Hilda quipped.

Wally tilted his head back and laughed, the sound filling up the room. "Maybe," he agreed. "But I couldn't see May any other way after that, and it honestly scared me. 'She probably doesn't like me like I like her,' I always told myself whenever I wanted to confess to her. Unrequited love really strains a relationship, and I still wanted to be friends with May."

Hilda gulped. "So what did you do?" the girl asked, leaned closer towards Wally in case she missed anything he said.

The green-haired Hoenn native gulped and looked down towards his lap. "I didn't say anything," he admitted in a quiet voice. "I was too scared to; I don't know if that was the right choice or not, but it's landed me where I am now." Without another word, Wally stood up and stretched his arms, turning towards the door—it seems as if he had tried too early to tell others about his hidden feelings for the Pokemon Coordinator.

"Wally-"

"Your brother will be coming back shortly." As he walked around the bed towards the only entrance, Wally paused a few steps away from Hilda. "Hilda?" he called out.

"Yeah?"

"Um..." The boy looked away as if unsure of whether to say whatever he had on his mind. "If you're still wondering what a crush is like, then just ask yourself if you _want_ to be with the other person. That might be able to help you find your answer."

"That's all?" Hilda asked.

"Yeah. See you," With that Wally opened the door and slipped out of Hilda's room, closing the wooden barrier with a small '_click_' of the doorknob.

Hilda sat in place for a couple of seconds, pondering on Wally's final words, before letting out a sigh and falling back onto the bed. The lone Xtransceiver (still displaying the option to play the last message she had received) bounced up and settled back down besides Hilda's head, LED lights glowing in the darkened room.

"Butterflies in the stomach," she mumbled aloud. Hilda wasn't sure if it were the butterflies that made her heart pound louder, or if she even had butterflies. All she could think about was the giddiness that rose up from her stomach. It was much like the feeling she got during an exciting Pokemon battle.

_ Ingo sighed, bringing the brim of the white cap down to cover his eyes. "Defeat me in a Pokemon battle, and you shall receive your answer."_

It was just a coincidence that she happened to be battling Ingo whenever she got that feeling, right? But no, even when they had no Pokeballs out Hilda could tell that feeling of bubbly happiness was there. Why ?

_ Ingo leaned down and brushed a couple of chestnut-coloured bangs away. "Miss Hilda, it will work out. Everything will be fine." he mumbled soothingly, gently treading his fingers through the brown tresses in a comforting manner._

Sure, Ingo was nice to her and gave out good advice when she needed it. Yeah, he invited her into his shared apartment and let her sleep over for some nights. It couldn't have meant anything though; Hilda was still sixteen, and there's no way that Ingo was into younger girls.

For all Hilda knew, Ingo probably liked older, more refined women like Elesa—no, that was a bad comparison; a woman with a short temper and a mighty right hook (not to mention a tendency to go around chasing the younger Depot Agents) was hardly Hilda's definition of 'refined'.

Hilda turned over onto her side, her nose coming close to the cold metal of the Xtransceiver. She thought back on her latest request from Ingo; the one she had asked the week before she and Hilbert had set off for Sinnoh. The young trainer knew that having someone like Ingo call her by her first name would be something major indeed. It would open the floodgates to a whole new wave of questions and feelings, and Hilda wasn't sure if she wanted to go through that.

_"If you're still wondering what a crush is like, then just ask yourself if you_ want _to be with the other person. That might be able to help you find your answer." _Wally's voice resounded inside her mind.

Hilda looked around the dark room once and then slowly closed her eyes. It would be easier to imagine herself back at the Gear Station that way. "Ingo," she whispered as if afraid to say anything else.

_"Hello, Miss Hilda." Ingo greeted, his face blurred due to the low amount of light in the room and the fact that his Xtransceiver was an older model. It did nothing to hide the small smile on his lips._

Hilda blushed, and covered her face with her hands.

_I think I like Ingo._

_End._

* * *

><p>Extra<p>

(In which Hilda misses Ingo in a different way, and tries to say something about it.)

"Hey Ingo," Hilda whispered into the Xtransceiver as it recorded her message. "Sorry about there being no video; it's like 5AM and Hilbert's still sleeping, so I can't turn on the lights."

The entire room was cast in darkness; Hoenn sunrises started around 7AM in the early fall. Hilda sat crossed-legged atop her blankets while Hilbert snored into his pillow in the bed beside hers. Shifting, Hilda cast a glance at her brother. Nope, he was still sleeping.

"Anyways, we're in Hoenn now and we're heading out towards Pacifidlog Town before moving onto Sootopolis City and Ever Grande City. We've been resting in Slateport City for around three days now and our search starts in..." Hilda checked the clock on the Xtransceiver, "Around two hours."

Someone coughed in the hallway outside the room, and the 16-year old girl jumped. "Oh gosh, someone's up," she grumbled. "Looks like I have to cut this message short. I hope you get it soon though, because it sounds like this will be the only time I can send a message. Wally said that the wireless connection in Hoenn is really unstable and weak. I don't even know how I got a decent connection so early in the morning.

Hilda chuckled, aware of her rambling, and stopped shortly. "Anyways, I'll see you and the rest of Nimbasa City when we get back to Unova. I can't wait to get back—there's so many things that I miss and so many people that I miss talking to face-to-face."

Hilda took a deep breath and calmed herself. "Well, bye I guess." she finished as she moved to press a button. As a small afterthought, the girl retracted her finger and leaned closer towards the Xtransceiver.

"I miss you, Ingo." she whispered into the microphone, cheeks flushed a dark red(thank Mewtwo that it was only a voice recording). Hilda briefly wondered if Ingo would be able to hear everything (her embarassment, her unsureness, her want to be back on the Single Line facing him in the 21st car), but shrugged her shoulders; stuff like that was unreal and highly unlikely.

With that, the girl pressed the 'END' button and watched as the small message icon flew off into the distance, carrying her words towards Unova.

"Hilda?" Dawn's muffled voice broke through Hilda's train of thought as the lab assistant knocked on the door. "Do you mind waking Hilbert up? We're packing up and some of us are going on a breakfast run."

"No problem," Hilda replied as she slipped off her bed and tiptoed towards Hilbert's sleeping figure.

Only six months and twenty-one days to go.

* * *

><p><em>*Note:<em> Here, Brendan and Lucas became the League Champions of their respective regions. May follows the anime!May-that is, she became a Pokemon Coordinator. Wally took on the role of the player's rival in R/S/E after defeating the Elite four. Janina is an anime-exclusive character; she is one of Jasmine's apprentices at the Olivine Gym (In this installment, she would be in her early teens due to the timeline and whatnot). Cal is a traveling Pokemon Trainer who appears at the Trainer house if the player's never used Mystery Gift.

Writing from a girl's perspective is kind of hard, but it's a good experience. I think. Still not really liking how this is written; maybe I'll go back and edit it later as well.

I'm sorry for the longer-than-usual delay in updates. Really sorry. Really, really sorry. But yeah, thank you very much for the reviews and messages you've sent over the days and the course of October (close to a month here, wow). We are coming close to the end, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you all, and have a good day/night! And be careful on Halloween; there's already been like seven close calls in my neighbourhood!


	9. Victory Road

Victory Road

(In which all's well that ends well.)

1/1

The train continued to make its way past Undella town at its fast pace, blurring the scenery of the ocean-side town and the lush forest that laid beside it. While it could have been faster to use a Pokemon that knew Fly, Hilbert and Hilda figured that they could take their time just this once. After all, they had been rushing every single action for one year now—surely they could have the time to relax.

Or at least attempt to relax. Hilbert watched with faint annoyance as Hilda plastered her face onto the glass separating her from the rest of the world. The 17-year old (18 in a matter of weeks) kicked his sister's knee with his dirt-crusted shoe and watched in amusement as Hilda turned her head with a cross look on her face. "No matter how hard you look out the window, we'll be arriving in Nimbasa City at the same time the conductor said we will. Now relax and get some sleep; I have the feeling you'll be too excited to get any later."

Hilda huffed, but understood how right her brother was. The young woman slowly turned her head from the foggy window and towards the League Champion, who returned her glare of annoyance with his own special look of indifference that seemed to only work on Hilda.

"Hilbert?" she asked him after a couple moments of silence between the two. Hilda could have sat in silence with Hilbert for days just minding her own business, she really could have. However, with the year of constant noise made on their travels Hilda couldn't find it in herself to stay calm and collected like her brother.

"Yes?"

"What kind of Pokemon do you think are in there? Did Wally or Dawn tell you?" Hilda pointed towards the small wrapped-up parcel resting innocently on the seat besides Hilbert.

Hilbert sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I don't really know. If you're so curious, you can try battling with them once we get to Nimbasa City. You're going on the Battle Subway later anyways, right?"

Hilda frowned. "No, I'm going to see Elesa and take my punishment like a man." Both of the Nuvema Town siblings felt a shiver climb up their spine; Elesa wasn't the best person to piss off, and the two hadn't bothered contacting her as often as they should have during their journey. As soon as she could get the thought of an enraged Elesa out of her mind, Hilda reached into her bag and pulled out a breakfast sandwich (courtesy of Janina, who had given them to Hilda a couple of hours ago).

"Yeah, and _then_ you're going on the Battle Subway," Hilbert mumbled as he pulled out his own sandwich. The two sat in silence, eating their respective breakfasts/lunches, before Hilbert swallowed his piece and piped up.

"You're just planning on seeing Mister Ingo, right?" The boy took his sister's sudden choking as a 'yes'. "Don't see him," he warned as he reached into his bag and presented a water bottle, which Hilda promptly swiped form his hands.

Hilda looked up from the water bottle with tearing eyes, glaring from underneath her cap. "And why not?" she challenged. After being in Hilbert's constant company for a year, the girl had gotten used to the idea-turned-reality that Hilbert would eventually find out about her growing attraction towards the Single Line Subway Boss. It was a fact that she had eventually lived with, but never before had Hilbert attempted to breach the subject with her.

Hilbert frowned, and crossed his arms over his chest. "It won't work out. You're 17; he's over 25. Do you see the problem here?" Seeing as Hilda was opening her mouth and about to argue back, the League Champion raised a hand and stopped her. "No, listen Hilda. It doesn't matter if he somehow likes you back and you two hit it off. It won't be accepted, not even after you turn 18. Mister Ingo may have to step down from his position as Subway Boss if your supposed relationship does go public—things like that aren't accepted in Unova. We're not in Hoenn, where laws are more lax and people are more accepting."

Hilda opened her mouth, ready to retort and yell at her brother that he was _wrong_, but stopped and closed her mouth. With a grimace, the girl turned back towards the window and glared out at the scenery; Hilbert was right, and while he was just looking out for her well-being it didn't mean that she had to like it.

Hilbert watched her for a couple of minutes. "Eat," he chided, pointing towards the bitten-into sandwich that rested on Hilda's lap in its plastic bag.

"Not hungry," the trainer grumbled out, feeling cross towards her twin brother.

Hilbert sighed. "Sis, I just don't want to see this end badly for you. Just think about what you're doing before rushing in, okay?"

The girl didn't reply.

* * *

><p>When Ingo learned that Hilbert and Hilda were back in Unova, it wasn't from meeting one of the two siblings. Rather, it was from a magazine that housewives (and snooping Subway Bosss) read.<p>

"Ah! Brother, wake up!" There was a pounding of fists on his locked bedroom door (something Ingo had finally learned to do after all the times Emmet had tampered with his clock and his coat) that startled the figure sleeping contently in bed. With a groan, Ingo raised his head and looked up at the clock at his bedside that was, thankfully, telling the correct time.

"Emmet, it's 6:23AM. Why are you making so much noise this early in the morning?" the grumpy man yelled out, eyes squinting shut from the amount of sunlight breaking through his curtained windows (summer sunrises were harsh and unforgiving on the slumbering).

There was an exasperated sigh from the other side of the door, and then Emmet pounded his fists onto the door again. "Ingo, just get up! Elesa just gave me some news about Miss Hilda!" the younger man shouted through the door before pounding against the wood again. Neither Subway Boss had managed to contact Hilbert or Hilda since the last Xtranceiver call they received (for Emmet it was around seven months while for Ingo it was around five); most of their information came from second-hand sources such as Champion Alder (who was re-assigned when Hilbert left) and high-ranking members of the Pokemon League that Elesa was in contact with.

It took only fifteen seconds for the doorknob to rattle slightly as Ingo unlocked it and flung the door open, revealing a smiling Emmet who was holding the latest copy of the _Unovan Inquiry_ in his hands. "Emmet, what is going on?"

"Read, read!" Emmet chirped as he shoved the magazine into Ingo's hands and skipped back to the kitchen to start up the coffee maker for his brother. "You also might want to start getting ready-I don't think you'll be getting back to sleep after this."

"Hmm?" Ingo stared down at the magazine for a couple of seconds before he recognized the familiar brown-haired figures on the magazine's cover. "What the..." Shutting the door to his room and walking back to the bed, the Single Line Conductor sat on the edge of his bed and opened the magazine to the first few pages, where a photo of a grinning Hilda and a smiling Hilbert greeted him.

"_Double Trouble!"_ the heading read in blaring red letters. "_The first ever recorded interview with the Champion of Unova, Hilbert Black, and his sister Hilda!"_ After the heading there were a couple sections of text littered with various photos (some recent, some from when the two trainers had started their Pokemon journey) and snippets of quotes. Ingo ignored many of the photos and continued flipping to the end of the three-page article, where there was a picture of the Nuvema Town siblings posing with Elesa outside of her lighted Gym. Hilbert looked a little taller and the baby fat on Hilda's face had mostly disappeared, so the photo had to be a recent one.

"When was this taken...?" Ingo mused as he read the end of the article. He vaguely remembered Elesa mentioning a photo shoot a couple of days ago, but as Ingo had been exhausted at the time he hadn't even bothered remembering the rest of the woman's talk. Slightly regretting it, the Subway Boss skimmed down to the end of the article, where there was one final question for Hilbert and Hilda.

"_ 'Q: What required you to temporarily step down as Champion and bring Champion Alder out of retirement for a year? Why did it require your sister?' "_ the question asked. Ingo read on in greater detail, eager to see if the twins would tell the interviewer how the search for the Team Plasma members had gone.

_"Hilbert: I won't go into very much detail, but there were some loose ends that needed to wrapped up. I understand that the past year has been rather confusing and frustrating for both League Officials and League Challengers. For that, we are sorry."_

_"Hilda: We thank everyone for their support and understanding in the time that Hilbert and I have been away. I won't say much either, but the situation has been taken care of and I'll make sure my brother gets to work as soon as possible."_ Hilda's quote finished off the questions in the article started to come to an end.

Ingo paused. It seemed as if the search for Ghestis and N Harmonia had been kept under wraps. If that was the case, then why did Hilda reveal so much information about it to him? Surely she was told to keep it a secret...

Ingo skimmed down some more snippets of text and final quotes to read the last few words.

"_Champion Hilbert Black and his sister Hilda White have just finished a year-long journey they started due to unknown reasons. The two returned on June 2, and Hilbert will be resuming his job as __League Champion on June 7. Hilda will resume her job as League Representative on June 8."_

"June 2..." Ingo looked over to the calender hanging on his wall. The long sheet of glossy paper read '_June 11'_ in bold letters. The Subway Boss blinked, then looked down at the magazine, where the date of the last photo was printed. '_June 6'_ the magazine read.

Hilda had been in Unova for over a week, even coming to Nimbasa City, and hadn't bothered contacting him at all.

For some reason, Ingo's chest tightened and the man scrunched his eyebrows together as he tried to ignore how disappointed he felt. With a grimace, the man let the magazine fall onto his bed as he started to change and get ready for the rest of the day.

As Ingo was about to leave, he paused at seeing the magazine on top of his bedsheets. Without a word, the man stuffed the magazine into his coat pocket and exited the room, remembering to lock the door behind him.

* * *

><p>Five hours after Ingo and Emmet opened the Gear Station, Hilda ran into one of the Subway Bosss. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on who you ask), it wasn't Ingo.<p>

"Emmet!" Hilda cheered as she leaped forward and found herself engulfed in Emmet's coat, laughing merrily as the older man spun her around in a circle at the edges of the Gear Station lobby. From a few feet away, Elesa stood with her arms crossed against her chest and her face set into a look of contentment. "Emmet, I missed you!"

"Ah, I missed you too Miss Hilda," Emmet replied as he set her back on the ground. "The place has been verrrrrry boring while you were gone, and Ingo has been more of a sourpuss lately."

"Really?" Hilda looked over her shoulder to Elesa, who nodded in confirmation.

"Yup!" Emmet chirped. "He's been really annoying, so I have to be really bothersome with the pranks! Say, Miss Hilda..."

"Hmm?"

"Where did you get the new clothes?" Emmet pushed Hilda at arms length away and inspected the younger girl a little more closely. Her current outfit looked much like her old traveling gear, with the exception of the slightly-puffy white sleeves and buttoned-up vest. Emmet had no idea how he hadn't noticed, but Hilda was missing her signature pink-and-white Pokemon League cap that usually kept her hair up. Today it came down in waves, styled by Elesa in a neater version of her usual updo.

"Oh, Elesa gave them to me. Said something about an early birthday present, but I wasn't listening," Hilda cheekily remarked before tilting her head to the side in order to avoid a not-so-dangerous punch from the Gym Leader.

"Little brat," Elesa muttered under her breath as Hilda grinned. "If you want to be that way, then I'll be in my gym, away from you."

"Sure thing, Miss Cougar." Dodging another punch, Hilda and Emmet roared with laughter as the Electric-type Gym Leader huffed and stomped off.

"Brother would probably like to see you looking like this," Emmet commented as Elesa made her way up the rest of the stairway to the rest of Nimbasa City. As if his words were a magic switch, Hilda froze in place. It was obvious that the Nuvema trainer had not gone to see the other Subway Boss at all since she returned from Hoenn.

Emmet's smile faded. "You know, you should really go see Ingo," the Double Line Conductor said as he pointed towards the platform of his brother's signature Battle Subway, the Single Line. "He's really been missing you over the year, and I know that he's probably hurt over you not seeing him or giving him a call for six months."

Hilda froze, then slumped her shoulders and sighed. "Easier said than done," she muttered.

At Emmet's raised eyebrow, Hilda spilled everything—from Wally's advice to Hilbert's talk on the train, nothing was spared as the young woman spouted off in a mess of emotions that had been plaguing her for the past year. The Subway Boss's eyes slowly widened in realization as the young trainer slowly ended her ranting.

"I-" Hilda gulped, and her face tightened into one of fear and trepidation. "Emmet, I don't want Ingo to hate me. When he finds out, he's going to be creeped out and I'll just end up making things awkward. Then we'll never be friends and I don't want that to happen, so it's better if I don't go and make an ass out of myself!"

"Miss Hilda..." Emmet shook his head. The man rested his gloved hands atop of Hilda's thin and shaking shoulders. "Don't you think I know my brother like I know the back of my hand? We do have to know each other well enough to cover for the other if something happens."

Hilda looked up, strangely reminded of a certain conversation she had with Ingo on the Double Line a long time ago. "Emmet, what..."

"Miss Hilda, I think know how Brother thinks. " Emmet squeezed her shoulders and started guiding her to the Single Line platform. "He won't reject you."

"What?" Hilda's heart pounded in her chest, and the girl let Emmet direct her towards the line with minimal fuss (that's not to say that she didn't try pushing the man away at least once or twice). "Emmet, what do you—you better not be lying!"

Without saying anything, the white-garbed Subway Mastser bypassed the Depot Agent staring at them rather oddly and gently pushed Hida into the final car of the Single Line. "Just see Brother," he told the girl as the whistle sounded and the doors started to close. "You'll get your answer then."

"Wait, Emmet-" The whistle blew one final time as Hilda lunged forward (either to reply to Emmet or to give him a piece of her mind) and hit the closed doors, her words drowned out and muffled by the glass and the noise of the wheels starting to turn. With a pause, the Single Line started off into the tunnels and left the platform empty save for a Subway Boss who was grinning like a Chesire Cat and a Depot Agent who merely shrugged his shoulders and continued doing his job.

* * *

><p>The subway car shook and swayed with the motions of the rest of the train as it twisted its way through the underground maze of tunnels. Ingo looked away from the window and towards his lap where the <em>Unovan Inquiry<em> magazine rested. From his left, his Chandelure let out a chime and floated around him.

"Chan~" the chandelier Pokemon cried out, catching Ingo's attention.

"There will be a challenger soon, don't worry," Ingo muttered, patting the Ghost/Fire-type Pokemon on the head before looking back to the magazine. With a glance at his watch (it had only been a few minutes since the Subway had taken off from the rest stop, so he had a while until a challenger managed to beat the sixth car), Ingo picked up the magazine and opened it to the second page.

One particular question near the top of the second page caught his attention and the Subway Boss leaned closer to the magazine, ignoring how his Chandelure let out a cry of boredom nearby.

"_ 'Q: To Miss Hilda—what kind of person are you attracted to? Do you have anyone in mind right now?' Oh, looks like this letter writer isn't shy in the least!"_

_"Hilda: Eh? When did this turn into a dating advertisement? I guess I like taller men, the ones that give off that vibe of protectiveness and maturity. Um, maybe I have someone in mind; I've been hanging around this one man who's usually in Nimbasa City, and he's been really understanding and considerate even though I bug him while he's working a lot. He's very insightful whenever problems come up, too."_

_"Hilbert: Sis, you're completely red."_

_"Hilda: Eh?"_

Ingo mind came to a halt as he finished reading the answer to the question, his body freezing in its place. It couldn't be; there had to be another man Hilda was talking about, perhaps Emmet. But he knew that was a lie—whenever Hilda was at the Gear Station (an average four or five days out of the week), Hilda spent most of her time on the Single Line or the Super Single Line, either to talk to Ingo or challenge him once more. The time when Hilbert had gone missing showed how much Hilda relied on him, too...

Oddly, Ingo felt...relieved. Relieved and slightly happy. He shouldn't be feeling this way—Hilda was at least a good six years younger than him and still underage! If he was correct in his assumption on Hilda's character (and he was hoping this _would _be a time when he was right), it didn't mean that she loved him. Hilda was only seventeen; she was still too young to know anything about love or desire.

Ingo's Chandelure floated forward and read the article for itself before letting out a chirp and poking its trainer with a flame-weilding arm. "Chan?" his Chandelure called out after the fifth poke on Ingo's non-responsive shoulder.

The Subway Boss blinked, snapping out of his daze. "A-ah, I'm fine Chandelure." he reassured the Ghost/Fire-type Pokemon. Slightly shaken, the man looked down at the open magazine and closed it, letting it rest on the blue subway seat besides him. Standing, Ingo looked forward at the door connecting his car with the 20th car.

"Chan?" Chandelure tapped his arm once more as he floated past Ingo's side.

"Yes, Chandelure?" Ingo called out. It didn't seem to be the reaction Chandelure wanted, for the Pokemon continued poking Ingo on his arm until the Subway Boss turned around and bent down to address the Ghost/Fire-type Pokemon directly to its face.

"Chandelure," Ingo chastised, gently pressing against the chandelier Pokemon's round head with a gloved finger. "What is-"

From behind him, the subway door effortlessly opened with a smooth '_whoosh_' and Ingo heard the noise of boot-covered feet hit the metal floor. "Um, hello?" a deep feminine voice called out as the door shut closed behind the figure. Ingo froze.

"Sorry if I came at a bad time," the female continued. Ingo heard the sound of fabric rustling and skin meeting skin. "It's just that Emmet shoved me on the train and...well, I guess I wanted to see you."

Ingo's Chandelure let out a chime of contentment as it floated away from Ingo's outstretched hand and towards the trainer behind him. Eyes closing for a second, the Subway Boss opened them and turned around to face Hilda, who stood battle-ready while patting his Chandelure on the head.

"I also remembered that you said you'd call me 'Hilda' if I beat you," she continued. "Do you think we can have our battle now?" The girl focused her gaze on the Subway Boss revealing focused and determined brown eyes that Ingo had come to miss over the last year.

Ingo nodded and recalled his Chandelure to his side in preparation as Hilda pulled a Pokeball from the belt on her hips. "I did say I would wait, did I not Miss Hilda?"

"Yeah, you did." Hilda wavered for a second (she looked as if she were about to tear up) and grinned. "You sound like you missed me. Did you miss me, Ingo?" she asked cheekily.

_"I miss you, Ingo." Hilda's voice whispered out amidst the sound of fabric moving and electronic buzzing._

The black-garbed Subway Boss closed his eyes once more and let his shoulders relax, feeling the stress and the questions that had been burning in his mind fade away. Once he was calm, Ingo opened his eyes and stared directly into Hilda's as if to feed on the girl's fire. "I suppose I did," he replied, his Chandelure bobbing its head up and down in confirmation of Hilda's question. "However, I happen to be relieved."

"Why?"

Ingo shrugged his shoulders, remaining as stiff and mature as the action could allow him to be. "Because." _Because you're safe and you're here. _The man tilted the rim of his cap and recalled his Chandelure, releasing his Crustle as soon as the red glow faded from his vision. "Now, shall we battle?"

"Nothing's ever simple with you," Hilda confidently released her Samurott from its Pokeball and watched as it stared the Subway Boss down before nodding once and settling into a battle-ready stance. "Do I have to always battle you for an answer?"

"Perhaps." Nothing else was said between the two as the air dropped in temperature and spiked with a dangerous vibe. Subway Boss and Pokemon Trainer stared the other person down (following the example of their respective Pokemon) before Ingo brought his hand up and pointed straight for Hilda's Samurott.

"Crustle, use Stone Edge." Ingo declared loudly enough for his Pokemon to hear. In an instant, his Crustle raised its pincers and bits of sharp rock broke off from its shell before the lowered to hover an inch above the car's floor. With another motion of its limbs, Crustle let out a cry and pointed forwards as the rocks shot forward in a burst of speed.

Hilda frowned. What was Ingo thinking, using a Rock-type move against a Water-type Pokemon? "Endure it and use Swords Dance!" she cried. Samurott's entire body seized up as he unsheathed the scalloped-based swords from their sheaths, waiting for the rocks as he placed himself in position and powered up.

The sea lion didn't have to wait long, for the sharp pain of objects piercing Samurott's carapace filled his nerves and forced the mighty Pokemon to close its eyes and grit its teeth until the attack ended. As soon as it did Samurott straightened up and stood atop his hind legs, bringing the swords up and fluidly moving from motion to motion as the Pokemon's muscles tightened and relaxed.

Hilda frowned, not liking how Samurott's carapace continued to crack and chip away with every movement. "Why did Stone Edge do so much damage-ah, it was a critical hit!" she muttered aloud before looking forward once more and pointing towards Ingo's Crustle. "Okay Samurott, use Aqua Tail!" At Hilda's command, Samurott sheathed his blades and charged forward on all four limbs before turning suddenly and slamming his glowing tail into Crustle's side. Samurott used the momentum to turn forward and slide back towards his owner with a wince-an after effect of the Rocky Helmet Crustle wore.

Ingo sighed, spotting the tell-tall signs of swirling eyes on his Crustle. "Bravo, you've done your part well." he muttered, and in a flash Crustle returned back into its Pokeball. Without another word, another Pokeball was thrown up and opened to reveal Ingo's Klinklang. "Use Volt Switch now!"

Hilda's frown grew. "Dammit," she grumbled, and before she could recall her weary Samurott, Klinklang had already acted and charged forward in a mess of yellow electricity that hit Samurott head-on. The sea lion let out a loud cry of pain before succumbing to its injuries and the latest attack, sliding down to the floor in defeat and utter exhaustion. With a bite on her lip, the Pokemon trainer recalled her Samurott in a flash of red light.

Klinklang let out a noise in glee as it retreated back to its owner's side and into it's Pokeball. Ingo smiled fondly towards the capsule and clipped it onto his belt, reaching for another Pokeball right beside it. Simotaneously and with no words, both Subway Boss and Pokemon Trainer released their next Pokemon.

Ingo paused and stared down at the Pokemon on Hilda's side of the subway car as his Garbodor tilted its head in confusion and slight trepidation - Poison-type moves are ineffective against Steel-type Pokemon, after all. "Miss Hilda, where did you get an Aron?"

"Hmm?" Hilda tilted her head and looked down, meeting her Aron's eyes from beneath its iron armor. "Dawn and Wally gave him to me as a parting gift. Alloy's really nice, but he's ready to kick your butt!" From his spot in front of Hilda's feet, Alloy let out a chirp of confidence that added to Hilda's words.

Ingo felt the urge to hide his face in the palm of his hand. "You named him 'Alloy'." he spoke utterly deadpan.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing at all." Focusing back onto the battle at hand, Ingo once again pointed forward towards Hilda's Pokemon. "Use Focus Blast!" the Subway Boss called out.

"Damn!" Hilda swore loudly. "Aron, use Protect!"

Simultaneously, both Pokemon started to charge their respective moves. As Garbodor released a large orb of brown energy, Aron cried out and managed to summon a wall of light-blue translucent energy a couple of seconds before the large brown orb collided with the wall and dissipated into smaller specks of brown that vanished into nothing.

"Again!" Ingo commanded his Garbador, who nodded its head and started the process of summoning its energy into visible ball of energy.

Hilda looked down at her shaken-up Aron; it was still affected by the earlier Focus Blast and looked too unstable to follow through with another Protect move. Gritting her teeth, the Pokemon Trainer nodded towards her Aron. "It'll be fine," she said as Alloy started to calm down the slightest bit. "Just use Iron Tail; I know you're faster than that big ol' Garbodor."

Encouraged by its trainer's words, Alloy let out a battle cry and sprinted across the floor of the subway car with determined eyes and a glowing spike in place of a tail. As soon as it was feet from Garbodor's body, the Aron leaped up into the air and curled up into a ball, slamming into the Poison-type Pokemon with its enlarge spike. Garbador let out a cry and stumbled backwards (almost hitting Ingo), but managed to remain upright in time to release the smaller and less-charged Focus Blast straight into Alloy's underbelly.

"Alloy!" Hilda cried as the Aron cried out in pain and fell onto its back. The Iron Armor Pokemon looked worse for wear, but still managed to pick itself up and glare up towards the slightly-dazed Garbodor. "Alloy, take him down while you still can!"

"Finish him off, Garbodor!" Ingo called out simultaneously.

In a flash of brown energy, Garbodor's weakly-charged Focus Blast collided with Aron as the small Pokemon rammed into Garbodor's lumpy torso. As soon as both Hilda and Ingo could see past the brown light, they could tell that both Pokemon had managed to make contact and damage the other; the question was who did the most damage?

Garbodor swayed to the left, then to the right before falling over onto its back with swirls in its eyes. From his place on its stomach, Aron laid knocked up and with similar swirled eyes.

Both trainers stood in silence and shock before Hilda's shoulders bounced up and down and amusement and irony at the sight of such a large and small Pokemon collapsed atop each other.

"It's not funny," Ingo chastised, but the man's frown was lighter than it was earlier. The tips of his lips tilted upwards as he pulled out a Pokeball and recalled Garbodor. Hilda did the same and recalled Aron to her side of the subway car.

Juggling her final Pokeball with one hand, Hilda finally tossed it over her head where it opened up and released her Reuniclus. "Happy to be back here?" she asked the Psychic-type Pokemon. Reuniclus responded with an 'okay' sign made with its three 'fingers'.

"Your Solosis certainly has grown," Ingo commented as his Klinklang made its appearance once more.

"He's been itching to battle on the Single Line for a while now. I remember when he used to make whining motions whenever he saw a fight between you and a challenger-hey, don't do that!" Hilda cried out as Reuniclus started to jab its trainer with its arm-like appendages. "Okay, I'll stop embarassing you, just stop it!"

Reuniclus grudgingly stopped its attacks the moment Klinklang let out a series of screeches that sounded akin to snickering. With a look towards Hilda, the Psychic-type Pokemon's eyes shifted and its mouth tightened into a thin line as if to ask '_What are you waiting for?_'.

"Oh, right." Hilda scratched her cheek and pointed towards Ingo's Klinklang in the same manner the Subway Boss announced his attacks. "Reuniclus, use Dizzy Punch!"

Ingo simultaneously called out his attack. "Gear Grind, Klinklang!" The Steel-type Pokemon rushed forward with its gears spinning at a dangerous speed as Reuniclus charged ahead. Reuniclus' fist hit first-the powered-up gel arm rammed into Klinklang's red core and chipped a gear before being caught in Klinklang's whirring gears.

Both Pokemon cried out and returned back to their trainer's sides looking damaged. "Klinklang?" Ingo asked his Pokemon, who let out a screech of confirmation-Klinklang was still able to continue battling. Likewise, Reuniclus was in fit condition asides from the slight unnatural bend to his right arm.

"Shift Gear," Ingo commanded, watching as Klinklang's gears paused for a moment before spinning in the opposite direction. Automatically, the Pokemon was spinning faster than before and sharpening the edges of its gears to increase its attack.

Hilda used the time to address the issue of Reuniclus' health. "Recover and get ready for another round," she said. Reuniclus did as he was told and started to glow as his cells regenerated and created more masses of gel that set his arm back into its natural bend.

As soon as both attacks finished, Ingo attacked first. "Giga Impact," he spoke quietly in hopes that Hilda would not hear his command. Klinklang paused for a moment, gathering its power, before rushing forward and managing to slam into Reunicus hard enough to send the Psychic-type flying into a wall and sliding down to the floor in exhaustion. Bits of gel stuck onto the gears and caused the Steel-type Pokemon to freeze in its spot before moving backwards to its original position.

Hilda's breath caught in her throat and she froze-but only for a moment. "Recover!" the girl screamed, hoping that her Pokemon was able to perform a move in its condition. Slowly, Reuniclus shakily managed to float a couple of inches above the ground as it started the process of regenerating its cells once more. The move didn't do much, but slowly some of the major gaps in Reuniclus' gel covering shrunk up and closed.

Once healed, Reuniclus locked eyes with Hilda as both Pokemon Trainer and Pokemon contemplated on what to do next. Ingo's Klinklang was out of commission for one round as it rested to regain its energy once more; the Subway Boss had probably thought he would be able to take out Reuniclus with one hit. Finally, Hilda pointed forward towards Klinklang once more. "Psychic," she called out, not willing to let her Pokemon near the still-spinning gears.

Reuniclus seized up in pain before closing his eyes in concentration. The moment he had collected enough energy, Reuniclus opened his eyes flung his arms forward. Ingo could only watch as an invisible for collided with Klinklang, cracking its core and causing the large collection of gears to cease spinning its gears and faint onto the floor.

Hilda and Reuniclus watched with baited breath as Ingo recalled his Klinklang and clipped the final Pokeball onto his belt. After a moment to collect himself and adjust his hat, Ingo brought his gloved hands up and started to clap. "Bravo!" he applauded, the car being filled with the sound of silk hitting silk. "Your talent has brought you to the destination called Victory!"

As if those words were a trigger, Hilda's legs buckled and the girl slid down to the floor in exhaustion as her Reuniclus did likewise. "Ah, it's over!" she cried out as her Pokemon followed up with his own noise of agreement.

Ingo chuckled, watching as Hilda wearily brought a hand up and recalled Reuniclus into his Pokeball. "Indeed it is," he replied. "However, your journey has just started. When you choose your next destination, please go full speed ahead."

"Sure thing. Can I just take a nap first?" Hilda's mouth opened up into a small yawn that the trainer tried to hide behind her hand. It looks like Hilbert's words of advice from days ago were true after all;she hadn't gotten much sleep over their week in Unova (telling Elesa of everything that happened over their journey and dealing with the interviews took a long time), and the battle had pumped adrenaline into her veins-adrenaline that was now leaving her more exhausted than she was before the battle.

Ingo smiled and helped the young girl up from her spot on the floor, gently directing her towards one of the blue seats lining the sides of the car. "Of course, Miss-Hilda. Please rest until we arrive back at Gear Station-"

"Will you please just wake me up when you've finished your battles? I want to catch up with you while I have the chance."

The Subway Boss looked down at Hilda's nodding head and her dazed eyes. While he appreciated the fact that Hilda wanted to spend time with him, he doubted that she could hold a conversation in her state. His mouth opened to deny the girl, but Ingo faltered the moment he locked eyes with Hilda. "...We will see, Hilda."

"Close enough," the girl grumbled before succumbing to the heavy feeling on her eyelids. In moments Hilda was fast asleep, letting out soft snores.

Ingo's tiny frown blossomed into a smile as he adjusted her head to let it rest against the back of the seat. Wouldn't do to have her wake up to a sore neck now...

...

* * *

><p>"Hilda, it's time to wake up."<p>

Hilda groaned, and lifted her head from its comfortable position atop of Ingo's shoulder. "What?" she asked as it melded with a large yawn.

"All the battles have been finished and we are almost at the station." True enough, the car was as empty as Hilda first saw it yet there were a few more skid marks on the floor than she remembered. Right beside her, Ingo looked down at the magazine in his hands and flipped a page, ignoring how Hilda fidgeted out of embarrassment (there was no way he could have gone through the magazine and not read the answers to the personal questions she had be asked).

Hilda paused, then looked up at Ingo's face. "Hey, you called me 'Hilda'," she remarked, smirking as the Subway Boss grumbled and pocketed the magazine.

"You did beat me, after all." he replied, patting the not-so-young girl on the head and brushing some of her bangs away from her forehead. "I do believe I did say that I would call you 'Hilda' if you defeated me in a Pokemon battle."

The League Representative smiled fondly at the memory of their recent battle (a glorious mess of Aqua Tails, Focus Blasts, and Psychic attacks that left her recently-evolved Reuniclus as the last one standing) before her smile dimmed suddenly and dropped to a frown. "You know," Hilda stated as she let her head drop and land on Ingo's clothed shoulder again. "If you're uncomfortable calling me 'Hilda', then just say so. You don't have to call me that if you want."

"It's not that I am uncomfortable with calling you by your given name," Ingo replied. "It's just that..." the article in the magazine came to the forefront of Ingo's mind, and the man's cheeks flushed. What happened to them now?

"You're not sure what it means now?" Hilda piped up. Ingo thought over her choice of words for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Ingo, if you're unsure of what's changed, then let me ask you a question."

"What is is, Hilda?"

The trainer bit her lip before looking away from Ingo. "What am I to you? Or do I have to battle the answer out of you?"

Ingo froze, just like time did in that split second (where all he could see was the top of Hilda's head as she looked away) before he blinked once. Slowly, after minutes of thinking and a bit of hesitation on his part, the older Subway Boss gently grasped onto Hilda's right hand and held on as if afraid to let go. "Hilda."

"Hmm?" Hilda looked up towards the older man, her hand still tight in his grasp.

Ingo slowly let go and let their fingers tangle among themselves, bare skin meeting silk gloves. "You're Hilda," he repeated.

Hilda pondered over his answer before squeezing his hand with her own. "Then you're Ingo. Not Emmet, not the Single Line Subway Boss, but Ingo."

Both trainers mulled over the answer they had been given before turning to the other as the train slowed and came to a stop at the familiar platform. "That is a good answer." "Good enough for me." the two said at the same time.

Hilda laughed and squeezed their hands, cheeks flushing out of embarrassment and adoration for the man besides her.

Ingo smiled and helped her up, face just as red as hers.

_End._

* * *

><p>Extra<p>

(In which all's well that ends well—just not for Ingo.)

"Look what the cat dragged in," Hilbert drawled out as the duo in the final subway car stepped onto the platform. Ingo and Hilda scanned the crowds and upon spotting him near the edges of the people headed in his direction. The League Champion didn't comment on their intertwined hands, but it was obvious how much it irked him by how the boy tilted his cap's rim to cover his eyes in an intimidating manner.

"Ah, hello Mister Hilbert," Ingo greeted as he tensed (a reaction to Hilbert's icy glare). Hilda frowned, tightening her grip on Ingo as she stepped forward.

"Hilbert, I like Ingo," she told her brother firmly. Both siblings ignored Ingo's shocked look at Hilda's bluntness and the gasp that came from a nearby Depot Agent (who was unfortunately the same one Emmet had bypassed earlier). "There's nothing you can do about it, so don't even try." the girl continued.

Hilbert stared down at his sister for a minute before turning to her partner. "And you?" he bit out. No matter how much the boy would deny it, Hilbert sounded much like a bitter Concordia.

Ingo gulped, and said the five words that would damn him in the eyes of Hilbert Black for the rest of the teenager's life. "I like Hilda as well," the Subway Boss announced as he straightened his back, looking down at Hilbert with resolution in his eyes and ignoring how the boy's eyes narrowed even further at the lack of a honorific before Hilda's name. League Champion or not, Hilbert's position would not deter Ingo any longer.

The trio were silent for a couple of minutes as Hilbert looked at Ingo, then to Hilda, below to their hands, and then back to Ingo. With a sigh, the boy slumped his shoulders slightly and reached forward as if to shake Ingo's hand. "Well, congratulation I guess. Have fun dealing with sis."

Ingo blinked (where had all the animosity gone?) then stretched a hand forward as well. Hilbert ignored it in favour for lunging forward and grabbing a fistful of Ingo's dress shirt (As well as his tie) and bringing the taller man closer to his height.

"Kiss her before she's eighteen and I'll sic Emboar on you," Hilbert hissed out as he glared up at Ingo. The man's back stiffened and Ingo froze in place without bothering to pry Hilbert's hand away from him, feeling much like a frog when being eyed by a snake. "If she cries once, the Gear Station will have to find a new Subway Boss to fit your role. If clothes start flying, then your brother will have to find a new twin."

(Was it just Ingo, or were Hilbert's eyes glowing a murderous red from underneath his cap?)

Hilda frowned and released Ingo's hand in favour of tugging on her brother's windbreaker to get him to let go of the Subway Boss. "Hilbert! No jokes!" she growled.

"Those weren't jokes." A furious tug and a pinch to his side had Hilbert wincing and retracting his statement. "Okay, so I take it back."

The boy waited for Hilda to cease her pinching and for Ingo to slightly relax before speaking up. "I'll send Reshiram after you if you kiss her before she's eighteen. He'll gladly do more damage." he announced, wearing a dirt-eating grin that made Hilda want to punch him in the face.

"HILBERT!"

* * *

><p>*<em>Note: <em>In case any of you are curious, Ghestis was found inside the Cave of Origin in Sootopolis City while N was found flying on Zekrom towards Sky Pillar. Both Plasma members were apprehended, but what happened afterwards is unknown. I kind of want to write how they were found...

But a little over a month later and around 40 000 words later, we have come to the 'final' installment in the _Twin Switch_ universe!-I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKED THE HORRIBLY-WRITTEN POKEMON BATTLE. I had so much trouble writing it because I haven't actually gotten to Ingo yet (CURSE YOU, DEPOT AGENT OF THE 20TH CAR). But yeah, so ends the main plot of the story. I had fun writing all of this though, and I'd hate to see it end so quickly.

If there are any questions regarding the plot and whatnot, feel free to leave a review or a PM or something-I'll be happy to answer questions now that most of the stuff is over. But anyway - thank you dear readers for sticking with the installments until the end; your reviews and PMs never failed to make me smile. The conversations always cheered me up and made me eager to get more out, while some reviews and later messages helped me fix errors and improve little by little. Guys, thank you very much for reading. Have a wonderful day/night!

(And with that, I'm going to go spazz some more and think up MORE stuff to write! /_rolls around on the floor _)


End file.
